Advancing Real Change, Inc.

"The book is successful in drawing out a core thread, which is that those on death row have more in common than different than one might think between the condemned and everyone else." Read ARC Executive Director Liz Vartkessian's review of Ghosts Over the Boiler, a new book of writings from condemned men living on Alabama’s death row. https://lnkd.in/engQBhYF

We can't wait to celebrate our award winners at Together Towards Justice! Friday, November 1 at 1pm Eastern. If you haven't registered, you can do that here: https://lnkd.in/eRB38U9q

Next week we will gather with our community of mitigation specialists, defenders, partners, and supporters to celebrate the impact we have made together and the hard work and dedication of mitigation specialists across the country. Join us as we recognize our 2024 award winners, Alicia Amezcua-Rodríguez and Miriam Bankston, and hear from ARC board member and Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law, Scott Sundby, whose research has helped transform the field of mitigation investigation. This event is free and open to the public. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eRB38U9q

Congratulations to our board member, Chris Walters, who has been awarded the prestigious Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award! The award is given by the Southern Center for Human Rights to those who demonstrate exceptional courage and tenacity in the defense of human rights and equal justice. Chris is one of our founding board members and we know that this award is well-deserved. https://lnkd.in/gUUP6Xbn

Capital defense work can deeply affect practitioners both professionally and personally. A community dedicated to trauma-informed practices can help sustain defenders as they engage in this difficult but necessary work. Join us for our Capital Defense Community Resilience Forum on October 28 for a session designed to foster this community, led by experienced criminal defense attorney and certified end-of-life doula, Rita Radostitz. Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/gmyjsQqq

Congratulations to our 2024 award winners! Alicia Amezcua-Rodriguez is the winner of The Muhammad-White Award, which honors a mitigation specialist whose body of work has profoundly advanced the field of mitigation. For more than twenty years, Alicia has worked as a mitigation specialist in Texas. She is widely respected in the state and nationally for her outstanding work, and she has made a tremendous impact on the practice of mitigation, especially on behalf of Latinx individuals facing capital charges. Miriam Bankston is the winner of The Emerging Leader Award, given to a mitigation specialist who represents the future of the profession. Five years into her career as a mitigation specialist, Miriam is the Chief Investigator at the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defenders in the Middle District of Alabama. She is known to be a dynamic leader who is devoted to her clients. Learn more about the awards and our winners: https://lnkd.in/eKB_jUfA

Congratulations to our board member, Chris Walters, who received the 2024 Veterans in Business Award from the Philadelphia Business Journal! The award recognizes veterans who have gone on to successful civilian careers and contributed to the community. Chris has served as Reed Smith's Senior Pro Bono Counsel since 2005 and is one of ARC's founding board members. We are proud to work with Chris and grateful for his service to ARC and to the community. https://lnkd.in/e4ShBkYZ

Today we kicked off our annual skill-building training: Writing Stories for Change! We are thrilled to offer this training again, this year at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Led by Dr. Jill Patterson, a national expert in narrative defense and an English Professor at Texas Tech, participants are learning the fundamentals of narrative development in their cases through practice-based workshops.

Each year, Advancing Real Change, Inc. presents two awards to outstanding mitigation specialists who are advancing the field and changing the criminal legal system for the better.s. Join us for a special online event on November 1 at 1pm Eastern Time to recognize and celebrate this year’s award winners. We will also hear from ARC board member and Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law, Scott Sundby. As part of his research with the Capital Jury Project, Professor Sundby has heard from jurors who learned many of the details uncovered in mitigation investigations and knows its transformative power. This event is free and open to the public. You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eRB38U9q

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Thursday to celebrate our tenth anniversary! We had a wonderful evening with our friends, partners, and supporters as we celebrated 10 years of change. We also asked what it truly means to advance change. Advancing change means engaging in micro and macro efforts to improve access to justice simultaneously—helping one person, one team, one community at a time while also seeking to address the broader issues that have landed us here today. And together we are committed to continuing to do that work. We could not have reached this milestone without the help of our friends and partners, and your support will carry us through the next decade. You can support our work here: https://lnkd.in/e2Yq8RbJ