Student Focus
Helping death row inmates: reflecting on my summer placement with Amicus, by Olivia Dillon.
This summer, I completed a volunteer placement with Amicus, a charity that is committed to fighting social injustice against inmates on death row. This article reflects my experience during this placement and the influence it has had on me.
Getting the placement
The opportunity to be a volunteer at Amicus was presented to me by Elena Katselli, my human rights law lecturer at the time. I wanted to broaden my legal experience and with an interest in criminal law, I thought this experience would be a unique opportunity to gain further insight into criminal law from a global perspective.
Not only did I want to engage in the programme for personal legal experience, but to make societal change in a charitable way. After learning that Amicus was founded in response to the unjust execution of a single individual, I was committed to the cause.
The placement application process is divided into three stages and after you have completed your interview, you will be contacted shortly after whether your application has been successful. The process as whole, whether successful or not, is an excellent opportunity to practice techniques for future legal applications.
My time at Amicus
During my time, I was consistently asked how I can help those who have committed serious crimes. My response always came down to the same principle, and that was belief in a fair and equal justice system. When two individuals have committed the same crimes, it is immoral to ignore clear discrimination, where one individual receives a life sentence and the other receives the death penalty. If the definition of justice comes back to fairness, then this is what we should consistently be striving towards.
I was working for Amicus for three months, from May to August, committing to two days a week. From the offset, I was introduced to a broad network of people, including other UK office volunteers with similar legal aspirations.
My role as an office volunteer involved completing a range of tasks set by my caseworker. All my tasks correlated around the same principle of helping those on death row who may have faced unfair treatment at trial or have additional factors such as mental health issues that should mean they cannot be executed. Some of these tasks included:
- Reviewing trials and documents in search of discriminatory language.
- Reviewing prison visitation footage.
- Organising case summaries.
- Aiding US attorneys with their workload on the case.
- Contacting companies to help organise charity events.
- Working with UK law firms to aid societal change.
- Writing for the Amicus newsletter to increase awareness.
Each week proved different to the previous and always interested me greatly. I consistently enjoyed the work I was completing, but my highlight was hearing of successful outcomes to the inmates. When you have a positive outcome from a case you worked on first hand, where there were evident examples of injustice, it feels as though a real difference has been made.
How this helps me in future
As an aspiring barrister, I wanted to complete something that would act as a unique experience where I could develop my legal analytical skills in an area I am interested in. More importantly, I wanted to aid social justice in a hands-on way. Amicus did this for me. On top of fulfilling my goals, Amicus introduced me to an incredible network of individuals.
My coworkers introduced me to alumni who are now successful barristers, where I received excellent advice ahead of beginning my career. I was able to build close, professional relationships with my colleagues, and I still maintain contact with them now as they help guide me through my early legal career.
Amicus hosts many events across the UK, so there are always excellent networking and charitable opportunities available in person, away from the remote working set up.
I would highly recommend the Amicus placement to any Newcastle University student, whether or not they study law and regardless of career ambitions. The opportunity opened my eyes to the injustices within the legal system at an international level, and I am entirely grateful to have been a part of a project that worked so hard to combat it.
