Requirements

To participate in the research project, including conducting or transcribing oral histories, interns or volunteers must

first, complete an application;

and second, participate in our training.

The project also asks potential volunteers and interns to think carefully about what working on this topic would mean for you. Spending a lot of time thinking about the death penalty, and the violent crimes to which capital punishment responds, is not everyone’s cup of tea. Nor is it appropriate work to take on at every part of a person’s life.

A potential volunteer or and intern should ask herself whether this is the right time in her life to undertake this kind of research, and whether she has the emotional support from friends, family or spiritual community (whatever is relevant to her) as she works with and thinks about sad and disturbing events. This is a personal decision. Some people have decided to defer working with us, or to work on a less intense part of the project, after evaluating their own circumstances. Self-awareness is key.

In general, personal qualities are more important than particular backgrounds or academic skills: responsibility, dependability, sensitivity, ability to listen with empathy and without judgment, and an absolute commitment to respect the confidentiality of people who entrust the project with their life narratives.

Volunteers and interns must be willing to work collaboratively and to regularly engage in constructive criticism as a team.