Professor Bernard E. Harcourt began his legal career representing individuals sentenced to death in Alabama at the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center (now the Equal Justice Initiative) in Montgomery, AL. He continues to represent condemned individuals and has represented Doyle Lee Hamm and Phillip Wayne Tomlin for three decades. Mr. Hamm is no longer at risk for execution, and Mr. Tomlin is currently serving life without parole. Last year, Professor Harcourt began representing David Wilson, who was sentenced to death in Alabama in 2008, at the federal habeas stage. He is assisted by law and undergraduate students in the Abolition Practicum.
In 2019, Professor Harcourt was awarded the New York City Bar Association Norman J. Redlich Capital Defense Distinguished Service Award for his work on behalf of individuals on death row.
