Attorney Andre de Gruy knows that the American justice system isn't perfect. Sometimes circumstances combine to convict people who didn't commit the crimes they're accused of. As director of Mississippi's Office of Capital Defense Counsel, de Gruy and his staff of lawyers represent people whom Mississippi has convicted of the most heinous crimes, mostly murders and rapes.

Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks are prime examples of justice system failures. Brewer spent 16 years behind bars—six of them on death row—and Brooks spent 18 years in prison for rapes and murders they didn't commit. Mississippi exonerated the two men last year when DNA evidence proved another man committed the Brewer crime, and he subsequently confessed to the Brooks crime. De Gruy was one of several attorneys who had worked to set Brewer free.

"Really the best part of the job is being able to go into a jail and see somebody who was probably in the lowest point of their life, and most afraid of their life, and for them to feel that I'm there to help them," he told the Jackson Free Press last November.

Tonight at 7 p.m., de Gruy will present "Report From the Battlefield: Defending Death Penalty Cases in Mississippi," sponsored by Mississippians Educating For Smart Justice. Calling him "one of the most effective criminal defense lawyers in the state" in a release, MESJ notes that de Gruy has spent his entire 20-year career representing the poor. Prior to his appointment in 2001 to the OCDC, de Gruy interned at the Capital Defense Resource Center, a federally funded non-profit, and worked as a trial attorney for the Hinds County Public Defenders office.

"There are no higher stakes in criminal law," de Gruy said of his post-conviction capital defense work.

The free program will be held at St. Richard Catholic Church, 1242 Lynnwood Drive, located behind Banner Hall.

Previous Comments

ID

150716

Comment

This is going to be a great presentation. If you can make it, be there. Anyone going to be able to record it?

Author

Ricky Kidd

Date

2009-08-10T15:09:53-06:00

ID

150718

Comment

I consider myself lucky to have been able to intern with Andre and all the staff of Mississippi's Office of Capital Defense Counsel before leaving law school. I am sure the presentation will be excellent.

Author

AGamm627

Date

2009-08-10T15:34:47-06:00