US based lawyer Emily Maw has scooped the University of Edinburgh’s prestigious Alumnus of the Year Award in recognition of her achievements in overturning miscarriages of justice in Mississippi and Louisiana, two states with the highest incarceration rates in the US, and the world.

While still a student at the University of Edinburgh Law School, Emily was given a Small Project Grant by the Alumni Fund to take up an internship at the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center. On graduation she returned to work there for a period of four years, aligning herself with the most despised people in the US: first-degree murderers and rapists on death row. Even at this early stage in her career, her work contributed to saving 10 people from execution.

Following this Emily enrolled at Tulane Law School, but just as she graduated the State of Louisiana introduced a US citizenship requirement for its bar examination which prevented Emily form practising there. Undeterred she sat for the bar in Mississippi and now, aged just 31, is Director of the Innocence Project New Orleans.

Fighting for those serving the so-called ‘lesser’ sentence of life without parole is what now takes up most of Emily’s time. Not only are miscarriages of justice more common with this sentence but those convicted are given the lowest priority by the state and have no-one to help or represent them. Emily Maw has overturned 8 of the 12 wrongful convictions secured by the Innocence Project in just six years, the men freed had collectively served more than 200 years in prison.

Last year’s Alumnus of the Year and former tutor to Emily Maw Professor Alexander McCall Smith, said speaking of the award:

“There can really be no more noble work for a lawyer than this, but it is messy and depressing and requires great courage. At times I can well imagine that it is even physically dangerous. Miss Maw’s determination and spirit are quite remarkable. She has probably saved lives; she has certainly prevented innocent men from spending their lives in degrading and unwarranted penal servitude.”

The Alumnus of the Year award is made annually to former students who have made a significant impact in public life. Former winners include the writer Ian Rankin, the former Director General of MI5 Stella Rimmington and cyclist Chris Hoy. The award is presented at the Freshers’ Welcoming Ceremony in the McEwan Hall, Edinburgh.

Posted: 10th September 2007

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