Warwick law grad to represent death row prisoners

A hotshot law grad from Warwick uni is heading to the USA this summer to represent prisoners on death row.

Dina Alawneh, 21, will be part of a 10-strong team of law students and recent graduates heading to the USA to cover a shortage of funding for defence lawyers in death penalty cases.

Law grad Dina says she’s strongly opposed to the death penalty

The trip is Dina’s second work placement in America, having spent last year making monthly visits to a prisoner on death row.

The aspiring lawyer, who graduated this summer, told Coventry Telegraph she doesn’t believe the death penalty is fair. She said: “You can’t justify taking someone’s life for anything and there are always going to be miscarriages of justice.

“Being over there was so much better than I expected and I think it can change people’s minds about law and the death penalty.”

The Warwick Death Penalty Project has been running for 10 years now and Dr Alice Panepinto, a research fellow at the uni, says it has been a remarkable success.

“Warwick is the only UK university that offers such a significant opportunity to its students.

“As well as being of benefit to the people who go on the internship placements, the US attorneys to whom we provide assistance tell us that the support they get from Warwick is invaluable in ensuring justice is present in their cases.

“There’s a real lack of funding for capital defence lawyers in the States, so the project is crucial.”