A Lawyer Who Represents Those on Death Row and An Exoneree Who Faced Life Without Parole [Part 1]

Jennifer Merrigan is a Stoneleigh Foundation Fellow who represents people facing a sentence of death or Life Without Parole {also known as Death by Incarceration}. As a lawyer for 20 years, her training is in capital mitigation. She is a former staff attorney and acting director of the Death Penalty Litigation Clinic, a nonprofit law firm in Kansas City, Missouri. She is also an adjunct professor at St. Louis University Law School and Washington University School of Law where she founded and teaches a death penalty clinical practicum.  Jennifer speaks at National Conferences on capital punishment and has written numerous articles on capital defense. She is the recipient of the "Atticus Finch Award" in Missouri for her advocacy work.Stephen Lazar works as a legal apprentice at Phillips Black Law Firm. He was formerly incarcerated, having been sentenced to Life Without Parole for a crime he did not commit. While incarcerated, he worked in the prison law library assisting fellow prisoners with their cases and became a certified legal reference aide by the state of Pennsylvania. He participated in many criminal justice think tanks as well as the Inside Out Program earning credits towards a degree in March 2023. He was fully exonerated and released after serving 16 years of his sentence.  He often speaks at colleges about the horrors of our justice system.Learn more about Phillips Black Law FirmLearn more about the Inside Out ProgramThis podcast is proudly sponsored by the Innocence Project of Florida. Visit www.floridainnocence.org for more information.