A Kaye Scholer Victory for Justice

A large and dedicated group of Kaye Scholer lawyers and legal assistants convinced the Virginia Governor to stop an execution the evening of June 8. The reprieve came just an hour before Virginia was ready to execute our client, a young man with an IQ of 66 who suffers from severe mental illness.

Our efforts included traditional legal argument, extensive analysis of the medical evidence, research into other successful clemency petitions, persuasive drafting, lobbying for support from prominent world leaders, including Desmond Tutu, advocacy in the press, and a lot of political savvy. But most of all, an unwavering commitment to justice and human decency.

The Kaye Scholer team included Kevin Willett, Arthur Brown, Lori Leskin and Jennifer Patterson.