My typical day usually begins with a staff meeting where I discuss what I worked on during the past day with the rest of the Witness to Innocence team. Some members of the team are based outside of Pennsylvania, so regular meetings on Zoom serve as a helpful way to connect with them. After my meeting with all of the WTI staff, I move to discussing my progress and other tasks with my immediate supervisor. Since joining WTI, I have been directed towards working extensively on communications. This includes website design and publishing newsletters. My work for the day consists of gathering research and preparing write-ups to be shared on our blog and mailing list. I also help to edit the writing of my co-workers and attend planning meetings throughout the day. Some of these meetings concern local legislative pushes to abolish the death penalty; we contribute to these meetings by facilitating members of the WTI exoneree network to speak at public gatherings and to meet directly with lawmakers.
The focus of WTI on the innocence argument against the death penalty (that innocent people are convicted of crimes and sentenced to death) has pivoted my focus onto the contingent epistemic problems of the penal system rather than objective prescriptions or prohibitions against the killing of people. I have used this shift in focus to contribute to my main project, which has to do with planning for World Day Against the Death Penalty. The theme, the death penalty protects no one, is on the flip-side of the same coin as the innocence argument which demonstrates that the death penalty actively harms the innocent.