Death Penalty

We are the top mitigation firm in the United States and we have the results to prove it!  We work as a team, not as individuals.  We get results and best of all, we work within your budget!

Specializing in capital criminal mitigation cases, yet have successfully worked non-capital felonies.

• We take both public defender and privately retained mitigation cases.
• We can provide mitigation services in English and Spanish.
• We locate mitigation evidence all over the U.S. and Mexico.
• Each mitigation case is handled by a well-trained team.
• In-person interviews and research; we do not use subcontractors or other agencies for this.

We investigate and provide evidence related to:

• In-depth assessment of the defendant using our own proprietary method
• Complete family history, back several generations
• Mental health history and treatment within the family
• Complete medical history within the family
• School records, including interviews with administrators, counselors and teachers
• Department of Corrections treatments from prior incarceration
• Abuse and trauma issues and lack of parenting
• Breakdown of child protective and welfare system
• Poverty, community violence, gang affiliations and toxic environments, pesticides, etc.
• Drug and alcohol abuse and its effects on judgment and cognitive ability
• Positive roles within the family and community
• Employment history
• Court and police records
• Attorney and court friendly reports and exhibits

Mitigation work is a combination of both art and science.

The science part is the ability to know where to look for police records, social workers reports, mental health professionals reports, medical records, school records, court records and every other written piece of documentation.  The science is also knowing how to locate witnesses, friends, educators, counselors, treating physicians, welfare case workers, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, godparents, in-laws and shirttail relatives.  Many of the above haven’t seen the defendant since childhood and are now scattered about the country.

The art is in knowing how to finesse these people into talking to you, giving statements and finding out what you need to know, and then getting them to testify.  Finally, all of these witness statements, records, reports and findings are useless to the defense attorney unless they can be properly organized and mapped out into a usable format that can be utilized in court.

The real art is in knowing what factors will truly be considered by a judge or jury in passing sentence against a defendant.  It is art in knowing how to present those factors in a manner that the trier of fact will pay attention to and truly take to heart.  It is in knowing how to make them connect with the defendant so they see that person as a human being.  That the defendant faced challenges in their lives that may have resulted in some wrong decisions, but given the same circumstances a judge or juror can say, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”