My Life Fighting the Death Penalty

Dr. Ed Bronson 
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, 
CSU, Chico 

Dr. Bronson is one of the nation’s leading researchers and expert witnesses on the death penalty. By his account, he has testified in 50 or 60 trials around the United States, with some of them very high-profile, such as the trial of Timothy McVeigh, the man who bombed the Oklahoma City government building.  Dr. Bronson has conducted significant research in the demographic variables of the juries – and the accused – in death penalty cases. And yet he didn’t set out to specialize in death penalty issues – before he graduated from law school, he worked as an engineer for various U.S. military missile systems and then owned a club in Denver where he was “a professional gambler.” During his long career as a professor at CSU, Chico, Dr. Bronson taught many students who became attorneys and judges. In 1970, he and a group of students started CLIC (Community Legal and Information Center) – a CSU, Chico organization that continues to thrive, giving students the opportunity to learn about legal issues while they provide free legal information to residents of the Chico area. 

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Recorded: February 28, 2014