Author, Journalist, and Lawyer

William Sothern will complete two books about the culture and morality of the death penalty in the United States. The first book, Put Away Childish Things, is a nonfiction narrative illustrating the realities of the death penalty in the Deep South, told through Sothern’s experiences as a Louisiana capital appeals attorney and as a young man who narrowly avoided incarceration following a felony drug bust. The book will challenge the dominant conservative rationales for harsh punishments and the death penalty by contrasting the second chances Sothern was afforded with the abysmal treatment many of his clients received at similar stages in their lives. The second book, Until You Are Dead, is an anthology that considers the death penalty in the U.S. today through a variety of cultural voices.

Sothern is a New Orleans writer and anti-death penalty attorney. He serves as deputy director of the Capital Appeals Project and was previously a staff attorney at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center. His appellate work and oral advocacy before the Louisiana Supreme Court has led to the reversal of several death sentences. Since Hurricane Katrina, Sothern has written more than twenty articles about social justice issues in New Orleans for national publications such as The Nation, where he is a regular contributor, Salon, The Brooklyn Rail, and The New York Times. His book Down in New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City was published by the University of California Press in 2007. Sothern is also the co-director of Reprieve US, a nonprofit organization that recruits and places international lawyers and students at death penalty offices in the South.

New Orleans, LA