Thomas Jefferson grad appointed to presidential panel
By DOUG SHERWIN
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
William Edwards, a 1991 graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Edwards, a deputy public defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office, specializes in the representation of people with intellectual disabilities who are charged with crimes involving the death penalty.
In the past, Edwards has worked pro bono on capital cases in the southern states. On the presidential committee, Edwards will be working with 20 other appointees advising the president on policy and governmental issues.
Edwards was the co-author of the 2002 study "People with Mental Retardation are Dying, Legally: At Least 44 Have Been Executed," which documented the executions of people with intellectual disabilities in the United States. The study, along with an earlier version published in 1997, was cited in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Atkins v. Virginia.
"I find it very encouraging that those of us serving on the committee will be able to combine our talents and abilities to look at the issue of people with intellectual disabilities with a new perspective," Edwards said. "Hopefully we will make a collective difference in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities -- that's why I'm honored to be appointed."
Edwards will be sworn in on Sept. 14 in Washington, D.C., before his first official meeting with the committee.