| Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project |
| Working to Obtain a Nationwide Moratorium on Executions |
Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, is a Professor at the Florida State University Collete of Law. In addition to being a former President of the American Bar Association (1991-92), Mr. D'Alemberte served as Dean of Florida State University College of Law from 1984 to 1989 and was president of Florida State University between 1993 and 2003. Additionally, Mr. D'Alemberte has served as President of the American Judicature Society (1982-84), practiced law for several years with Steel Hector & Davis in Miami, and was a member of the Florida House of Representatives between 1966 and 1972.
Gov. Parris N. Glendening, is President of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute. He served as Governor of Maryland between 1995 and 2002. In his capacity as Governor, he instituted a moratorium on executions in Maryland due to concerns about racial and geographic bias in the system. Before becoming Governor, Gov. Glendening was a local elected official for more than 20 years. He began public service in 1973 as a city councilman in Hyattsville and was later elected to the Prince George's County Council in 1974. In 1982 he was elected County Executive of Prince George's County, a post he held for three consecutive terms.
Fred D. Gray, is a senior partner in the law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray & Nathanson, with offices in Montgomery and Tuskegee, Alabama.With a legal career that has spanned over 45 years, Gray is perhaps best known for representing Rosa Parks and for serving as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s first civil rights attorney. Mr. Gray has also served as President of the National Bar Association in 1985-86, became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1999, and he was selected for a three-year term as a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents in 2003. He also became the first person of color elected as President of the Alabama State Bar Association in 2002-03.
Hon. John J. Gibbons, is a Director of the Newark, New Jersey based firm of Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, P.C., a member of the Litigation Department and founder of the firm's Fellowship in Public Interest and Constitutional Law. Formerly the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, he served on that Court from 1970-1990. Mr. Gibbons is a Past President of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a Life Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is a former member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and a former Chair of its Committee on Fair Trial and Free Press. He is a Director of the American Arbitration Association, a Trustee Emeritus of the Practicing Law Institute, a Trustee Emeritus of Holy Cross College and a Trustee of The Fund for New Jersey.
Mario Obledo, is the President of the National Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and is one of the nation's leading Hispanic American civil rights advocates. He was a co-founder of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the National Hispanic Bar Association. Mr. Obledo is a former Secretary of Health and Welfare for the state of California and served as President of MALDEF and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and as Chair of the National Rainbow Coalition. In addition to many other honors and awards, he received the Medal of Freedom from President Clinton.
Raymond Paternoster, is a professor at the University of Maryland Institute of Criminal Justice and Criminology and the Director of the University of Maryland Office of Academic Computing Services in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. In 2002, he released a study of racial and geographic disparities in the administration of the death penalty in Maryland. He has written a large number of books and articles about a variety of criminal justice issues, including the impact of race in capital sentencing
Virginia E. Sloan, founded the Constitution Project in 1997 and is now its President. She also serves on its Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and directs its Death Penalty, Constitutional Amendments, and Right to Counsel Initiatives. Ms. Sloan previously served as Executive Director of the Task Force on Gender, Race and Ethnic Bias of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. For 14 years, she was a counsel to the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, including several years as counsel to the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. Ms. Sloan serves as a special counsel to the Council of the American Bar Association's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities and on the ABA Committee on Court Funding. Ms. Sloan also serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern Center for Human Rights and the Innocence Project of the National Capital Region and the Honorary Board of the Washington Council of Lawyers.
Penny W. Wakefield, is a civil and human rights lawyer working in the areas of legislation and public policy. From 1991 through 2003, she directed the work of the American Bar Association's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, which addresses civil rights, civil liberties and constitutional law, and international human rights concerns. After receiving her J. D. degree from The American University Washington College of Law, Ms. Wakefield served as Assistant General Counsel of the National Commission on Air Quality and as Associate General Counsel of the National Criminal Justice Association (the criminal law affiliate of the National Governors Association) before joining the ABA staff. She also has worked as a college English instructor, news reporter and writer, and freelance legal and public policy writer and editor.
