Elizabeth Vartkessian works with criminal de fense teams as a mitigation specialist. She isn&rsquo\;t part of the Innoc ence Project\; her clients are often legally guilty\, and often of serious crimes. Rather\, her job is to spend hundreds of hours per case talking t o the parents\, siblings\, teachers\, and neighbors of a defendant\, situa ting their crimes in context.
\nFounder and director of the nonprofi t mitigation team Advancing Real Change Inc.\, Vartkessian weaves powerful \, gripping stories from her extraordinary career into an inspiring argume nt for dignity in American justice. Her unique experience has taught her t hat when personal or generational trauma enters the body\, it finds its wa y out eventually&mdash\;sometimes through violence. She contends that we c annot hold her clients solely responsible for their actions\, nor can we c ontinue to impose harsh penalties that deny real justice to perpetrators a nd victims alike.
\nAmid the Trump administration&rsquo\;s record-hi gh executions and calls to expand the use of the death penalty after decad es of progress\, "The Deserving" is required reading for a dangerous new e ra of rollbacks. Vartkessian offers a compelling\, hope-filled vision of t rue rehabilitation replacing retribution.
\n\nNgozi N dulue is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of the D istrict of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Director of the Post -Conviction Criminal Defense Clinic\, where students represent clients in post-conviction challenges to criminal convictions. The clinic focuses on developing core skills for post-conviction work\, including legal research and writing\, client relationship building\, post-conviction investigatio n\, and the integration of racial justice claims.
\nBefore joining U DC Law\, Professor Ndulue held several nonprofit leadership roles focused on racial justice\, the criminal legal system\, and indigent defense. Most recently\, she served as the Innocence Project&rsquo\;s first Special Adv isor on Race and Wrongful Conviction\, where she provided expertise on rac ial justice\, equity\, bias\, and discrimination in the criminal legal sys tem\, particularly as it relates to wrongful convictions.
\nEarlier in her career\, she held leadership roles at the Death Penalty Information Center\, the NAACP\, and the Ohio Justice &\; Policy Center\, and serv ed as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Arizona Capital Habeas U nit (2008&ndash\;2011). Professor Ndulue holds a JD from Yale Law School a nd a BA from the University of Cincinnati.
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