Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul (JD ’93 IIT Chicago-Kent)

“The Death Penalty in America” is the topic of a program hosted by IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law on September 12 from 2 to 6 p.m. in the law school’s Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium, 565 West Adams (between Clinton and Jefferson streets) in Chicago. The program will focus on the future of the death penalty and why attorneys are essential to ensuring justice for death row prisoners. Co-sponsored by IIT Chicago-Kent, its student chapter of the American Constitution Society and the American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project, the program is eligible for 1.25 hours of IL MCLE credit. There is no cost to attend.

The program will consist of two 75-minute panel discussions, each followed by question-and-answer periods. The first panel, “On the Path Toward Abolition of the Death Penalty in the U.S.,” will explore recent successful efforts to abolish the death penalty in Illinois and Connecticut and the prospects for future efforts in other states. The discussion will be moderated by criminal defense attorney and IIT Chicago-Kent clinical professor Richard S. Kling.

The second panel will discuss the “crisis of counsel” and other problems with administering the death penalty. Panelists will explain how lawyers – including civil law firm practitioners, can help ensure fairness and due process for those on death row. The discussion will be moderated by Michael Siem (BS ’96 IIT), special counsel, Baker Botts, LLP.

Participants include Illinois death row exoneree Michael Fields; Connecticut state senator Terry Gerratana (D); Marc R. Kadish, director of pro bono activities and litigation training, Mayer Brown; Robin Maher of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project; Illinois state senator Kwame Raoul (JD ’93 IIT Chicago-Kent) (D); and Equal Justice USA executive director Shari Silberstein.