“The Capital Habeas Unit for the Fourth Circuit (“the CHU”) represents people sentenced to death by a state or federal court. The CHU is a regional office that covers all of the states within the Fourth Circuit’s appellate jurisdiction. It currently has an active caseload in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

A person with a death sentence has the right to ask a federal district court to review their conviction and sentence for violations of their constitutional rights—a proceeding called federal habeas corpus review. The CHU provides expert counsel and investigative services for people who seek federal habeas corpus review but cannot afford an attorney.

The CHU represents our clients on appeal to the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Its work also includes: requests for stays of execution; proceedings to determine whether a person is incompetent to be executed; challenges to a jurisdiction’s method of execution; and petitions for clemency.

The CHU has a dedicated team of investigators, paralegals, and attorneys. We have decades of experience defending the rights of people who have been accused and convicted of the most serious crimes.”