The Capital Habeas Unit represents people who have been convicted in Ohio state courts of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. We are appointed by the United States District Court, and sometimes by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. We represent these individuals in their federal habeas proceedings challenging the conviction and death sentence on constitutional grounds. We continue to represent the individual at all stages of the habeas process from habeas petition, appeal to the Sixth Circuit, and if necessary, certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. We also represent these individuals before the Ohio Adult Parole Board requesting executive clemency.
Our goal is to provide the most effective and efficient representation to our clients at every stage of the process. We stand with our clients before the Courts and fight for their rights in sometimes emotional and highly charged litigation. Our clients are often damaged human beings who have been convicted for committing horrible crimes, but their lives have value. And some of our clients are innocent of the crimes for which they have been convicted. We speak truth to power and try to shine a light on improper convictions and sentences so that the judiciary will notice and rectify the errors.