Death Penalty Mitigation

Abstract

Recent literature suggests that the preparation of students for changing practice environments requires the establishment of non-traditional field placement opportunities through creative university-agency partnerships. This article describes a field education/capital mitigation project developed by a school of social work and the state death penalty resource center. The project provides an example of a unique, collaborative educational effort; it reflects the increasing recognition by the courts of the contribution of social work to the understanding of human behavior; and it illustrates the role of the profession in the expanding field of forensic social work.

Key Words:

• Capital mitigation
• capital sentencing
• death penalty mitigation
• death penalty sentencing
• field education
• forensic social work
• mitigation
• mitigation specialist