Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP) stands for a world without the death penalty.
We work with our volunteers, interns, and board to develop legal and policy solutions that will help save lives.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
RESEARCH
VOLUNTEERING
WHO WE ARE
Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP) stands for a world without the death penalty. We work with our partner organisations, volunteers, interns, and board to develop legal and policy solutions that will help save lives.
CPJP (formerly Reprieve Australia) was founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2001 by criminal barristers Richard Bourke and Nick Harrington to provide legal representation and humanitarian assistance to those at risk of execution. Initially, our task was to provide volunteer assistance to capital defence centres in the US and while we remain committed to this essential work, our focus is on challenging the death penalty in Asia. CPJP’s Australian base offers strategic advantages for the work, despite our regional outlook. Australia has identified abolition of the death penalty as one of its human rights priority areas, and there is much that can be done to ensure that Australia is a leading voice on abolition.
Our Board is led by Stephen Keim SC and comprises 7 voluntary Board members. We operate on a small budget comprised of donations and grants, which covers our casework, research, policy work, advocacy and educational work.
CPJP strives to be practical and effective. We give our time for free, so we have no time to waste. Our approach is to be flexible in the ways we assist. Our strategies focus on providing sensible and sophisticated assistance and support to those working for change, with a particular focus on countries in our region.