Human Writes is a non-profit organisation

which befriends people on Death Row in the USA

Resources and Links

Some useful resources related to our work.

Useful Websites

Death Penalty Information Center

Death Penalty Information Center

www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organisation (founded in 1990) based in Washington, DC. The organisation focuses on in-depth reports relating to capital punishment in the United States and is an excellent source of in-depth statistics relating to the US death penalty.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International

www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/death-penalty
As a global movement of over ten million people, Amnesty International is the world's largest human rights organisation. They continue working to end the use of the death penalty around the world and have stated that they won’t stop until every country in the world has abolished it.

NAACP Legal Defence Fund

NAACP Legal Defence Fund

www.naacpldf.org
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund issues a quarterly report entitled Death Row USA. The report contains death row populations by state, as well as other statistics pertaining to capital punishment in the United States.

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights

www.mvfhr.org
Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights was launched on International Human Rights Day, 2004, by a group of victims' family members who oppose the death penalty. Through public education and advocacy this organisation amplifies the voices of victims’ families who oppose the death penalty, They provide anti-death penalty campaigns with victims’ uniquely compelling testimonies whilst also drawing attention to the ways in which the death penalty harms the families of those executed.

Witness to Innocence

Witness to Innocence

www.witnesstoinnocence.org
Witness to Innocence is an organisation of, by, and for death row exonerees. Their mission is to empower exonerated death row survivors to be the most powerful and effective voice in the fight to end the death penalty in the United States. Through public speaking, testifying in state legislatures, and media interviews their members expose the reality that innocent people are sentenced to death. Death row exonerees, and the issue of innocence, have been pivotal in every state that has abolished the death penalty in the past fifteen years.

Useful reading

Grace From The Rubble

by Jean Bishop

Grace From The Rubble

This book tells the intertwining stories of four individuals - Julie Welch, a young professional woman with her life ahead of her who was killed in the Oklahoma bombing, her father Bud Welch, Tim McVeigh the troubled mind behind the horrific event, and his father, Bill McVeigh. The book follows the events after that day as one father buried his daughter and the other saw his only son arrested and tried for mass murder. Three years later one father reached out to the other in peace and friendship, acknowledging that both had loved their children and that they could help each other to heal from their grief.

Just Mercy

by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned and those trapped within the farthest reaches of the US criminal justice system. This book tells of some of his defence cases defended in the US southern states. A powerful book set against a background of poverty, racial bias and political dynamics. Re-published in 2020 by Scribe UK to tie in with the award-winning film production.

Right Here, Right Now

Life Stories from America's Death Row

by Lynden Harris

Right Here, Right Now

This collection contains true stories from many prisoners living on Death Row in the United States. Some remembrances go back to childhood experiences; others describe their endeavours to hold on to connections in the outside world whilst awaiting their sentence.

Death At Midnight

by Don Cabana

Death At Midnight

This is a personal account of the experiences of Donald Cabana, a long-term corrections official and former supporter of the death penalty. His perception of capital punishment was radically changes following is years as a prison warden on death row in Mississippi and he became an outspoken opponent to the death penalty.

A Descending Spiral

Exposing The Death Penalty In 12 Essays

by Marc Bookman

A Descending Spiral

The author illustrates his many years of capital litigation experience through these twelve individual accounts. Each essay tells a powerful story in its own right about a particular case. When the twelve essays are put together as a whole they provide a compelling story about the death penalty. The essays are vivid and thoughtful and allow the reader to know the real people behind the statistics in the world of capital justice.

Within These Walls

by Rev. Carroll Pickett

Within These Walls

Caroll Pickett ministered to ninety-five men and stood alongside them in the Texas execution chamber during their final moments. He details his memoirs of those years and illustrates why he so strongly opposes the death penalty. The book is calmly written, with no gory detail, just the continual challenge of ministering to those who are about to have their lives taken from them by the state.

Until I Could Be Sure

by George H. Ryan

Until I Could Be Sure

A compelling account of Illinois Governor George Ryan's historic conversion from death penalty proponent to death penalty opponent. His declaration of a moratorium on executions in 2000 was the first ever in the United States. His emptying of Illinois death row in 2003 - the largest commutation of death row inmates in American history - was an act of moral courage born of conscience and conviction after thirteen condemned men were exonerated.

American Injustice

Inside Stories From The Underbelly Of The Criminal Justice System

by David S. Rudolf

American Injustice

Defence attorney David Rudolf takes a searing look at systematic failures in the US justice system, noting that over the past three decades around 2700 people were exonerated and released from prison for crimes they had not committed. Enriched by the author's first-hand experience he documents shortcomings in forensic science and claims that the cases which he and other defence attorneys have been able to win are just the tip of the iceberg.

In a Death Row prisoner‘s own words:
“It‘s about my penpal she has changed my life from a mental hell, her letters have rolled back the clouds in my life and allowed the sunshine to burst thru. I am so impressed by this beautiful women that I am not ashamed or embarrassed to acknowledge her as my friend – Best Friend. I couldn’t love her more.”

Human Writes Patrons

"The very essence of the death penalty is to tell people that they are somehow sub-human, not fit to live. Yet even those people I have represented who did what they were accused of - a surprisingly limited number - have always been much better people than their worst fifteen minutes, as are we all. Those who recognise this by reaching out to the men and women on death row are true heroes, though I suspect they gain as much as they give to the relationship."
Clive Stafford Smith OBE, Founder of Reprieve and Patron, Human Writes

"As a journalist who has lived and worked in the United States, the horror of death row is one of the issues that never leaves you. The thread of humanity that Human Writes manages to sustain with men and women on death row is a profound contribution to keep alive the hope of life. Capital punishment is now on the retreat in America, but the numbers awaiting their fate are still very considerable. I am very honoured to have become a Patron of Human Writes and will hope to do my best to put my shoulder to the wheel".
Jon Snow Broadcaster and journalist, Patron, Human Writes

"I know what it is like to live in a cell for decades and feel that the whole world hates you. I never expected to be able to live again as a contributing member of a community. Prison life was precarious and unpredictable but I met people who worked there who wanted to help me and people like me - and I'm lucky that I live in a society graceful enough to offer me a second chance. At least I had hope. Hope for many of the people supported by Human Writes has all but been extinguished. Letters to people on Death Row let them know that however low they may have fallen, they are still human beings. They still have value and are worth caring about and letters might just help to keep hope alive. That is why I am honoured to have been invited to be a patron."
Erwin James 1957 - 2024, author and Guardian columnist, Patron, Human Writes

Prisoner Art and Writing

"The volunteers of Human Writes seek to hold out the hand of friendship to men and women facing the death penalty. I am pleased to encourage them in their writing"
Most Reverend and Rt Hon George L Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury

"No matter its circumstances, dying is one of the most important things we ever do. I applaud all who offer compassion and hope to those facing death, especially in the terrible circumstances of Death Row. May God bless your work."
His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster