Death Penalty Law and Advocacy

Take the opportunity to understand how you can work to abolish the death penalty.

Did you know that as of 2020, 56 countries globally retain the judicial use of the death penalty? 

Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP, formerly ‘Reprieve AU’), is a not for profit organisation which challenges the use of capital punishment (death penalty) globally, with a specific focus on the Asia Pacific region, working with many partner organisations to achieve this goal. The work undertaken by CPJP has two main areas of focus:

(1) assisting capital defence lawyers and advocates, abolitionist organisations and individuals facing capital punishment abroad; and

(2) promoting effective implementation of the Australian Government’s Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty and all that entails (including bilateral and multilateral advocacy, support of cases in specific categories and cases of Australian nationals, etc.).

We assist on casework, potential litigation on strategic issues, policy work, advocacy, education and awareness raising to ensure that legal and policy solutions defeat the death penalty.

No two days working or volunteering with CPJP are the same. Our virtual program allows you to try a range of these tasks that we tackle on a daily basis and to develop and apply your analytical, communication and research skills to this important topic. 

This program is recommended for participants who have studied or are interested in law, international relations, diplomacy, human rights, policy, advocacy and communications, and those who are interested in the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. While the focus of this program is on our work towards the abolition of capital punishment, many of the skills are relevant to other human rights causes. 

Join us and put your diverse backgrounds, skills, experience and passion to a good cause. We promise you will learn a lot along the way, and equip yourself to make a difference.

This program is self-paced. It takes approximately 4-5 hours to complete.

Skills Learned:

• General Death Penalty Knowledge
  Obtain a general overview of the death penalty across the world today in this primer task.
  • Policy Development
  • International Affairs
  • Criminal Law
  • Data Analysis
• Providing diplomatic and consular assistance when someone is at risk of execution
  Learn best practice and consider the necessary steps under international law for consular assistance to foreign nationals facing the death penalty.
  • Strategy
  • International Law
  • Research
  • Data Analysis
• Assisting in case work for a death penalty sentencing case
  Consider potential mitigating factors that arise from an interview with a defendant in a capital punishment case.
  • Case Management
  • Legal Investigation
  • Written Communication
  • Legal Analysis
• Using foreign policy to advocate against the death penalty
  Draft an opinion article about the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Australia and Japan and the death penalty.
  • Research
  • Diplomatic Skills
  • International Relations
  • Written Communication
  • Strategic Analysis
• Preparing a presentation on Australia’s sharing of information with countries that impose the death penalty
  Consider the domestic legislation which allows Australia to share information with retentionist countries and present your findings.
  • Research
  • Data Analysis
  • Advocacy
  • Legal Research
  • Verbal Communication
  • Presentation Skills
• Finish Line