Lessons from Capital Clemency Campaigns

Clemency campaigns in capital cases often require defense teams to navigate legal strategy, client expectations, coalition-building, and political realities while presenting a full and compelling case for mercy. Understanding the available paths to clemency and when to begin preparing can help teams approach this work with greater clarity and coordination.

Join us for a panel discussion with experienced advocates who have participated in capital clemency campaigns. Panelists will share practical insights into how clemency efforts take shape, including when clemency first becomes a realistic option, how team members contribute to the campaign, how to discuss the process with clients and set realistic expectations, and how mitigation investigation can inform the broader strategy.

The discussion will also examine lessons learned from both favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Participants will understand practical considerations for defense teams approaching clemency advocacy.

Click the link below to register.

This webinar will be recorded. CLE credits are not available for this webinar; however, a letter of attendance will be provided upon request to Mary Roberts at [email protected].

Speaker’s Bio:

Sophie Day, MSW

Sophie Day is a Mitigation Specialist at the Kansas City CHU (Capital Habeas Unit) and has been part of eight clemency campaigns. A social worker by training, Sophie considers herself a storyteller and feels honored to force those tasked with making decisions about her clients’ lives to confront their dignity. Sophie currently has clients on death row in Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Alyssa O’Brien, MSW

Federal Public Defenders of the Western District of Missouri – Alyssa is a Mitigation Specialist in the Capital Habeas Unit (CHU). This office primarily has practiced in Missouri but now are appointed out of district in seven neighboring states. Alyssa holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Psychology and received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Missouri – Kansas City in 2024. Prior to receiving her masters, she was in animal welfare nonprofit management. During her master’s program, she volunteered at the Midwest Innocence Project, facilitated philosophy programs in prisons, and participated in a summer internship with the Missouri CHU. Through these practices and own personal experiences, she became increasingly motivated to help fight the injustices experienced by marginalized individuals specifically in the criminal legal system and those facing the most severe punishments. She has served on the Emerging Professional’s Board for a local non-profit aimed at helping those affected by substance-use and is also a “Big Sis” to Kamaiyah in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys spending time with her two cats – Zepp and Anton – and training for her next powerlifting competition. She can be reached at either [email protected] or (913) 530-3676

Kacey Keeton

Kacey Keeton is Senior Litigator at the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama, where she has represented people on Alabama’s death row since 2007 and also handles trial-level cases for indigent clients facing federal charges.

Since 2007, Kacey has also volunteered with the Alabama Post-Conviction Relief Project, which recruits and supports volunteer lawyers representing people on Alabama’s death row. As the project’s Volunteer Coordinator, she provides education and support to those attorneys.

In 2025, Kacey led the clemency effort for Robin “Rocky” Myers, whom she had represented for nearly two decades. Governor Kay Ivey’s commutation of his death sentence was Alabama’s first clemency grant to a Black man and only the second in the state in the modern era of the death penalty. 

Kacey’s commitment to capital defense began at the University of Alabama School of Law, where she received the ACLU Award for her work on a death-row appeal. After law school, she clerked for Chief Justice James Smith of the Mississippi Supreme Court and practiced as an associate at Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes in Jackson, Mississippi, before joining the Federal Defenders.

A 1997 journalism graduate of Mississippi University for Women, Kacey received the MUW Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 2017, and in 2025 she was named to the inaugural class of W Guild Award recipients, which honors alumni for leadership and distinction in their professional, civic, and philanthropic lives.