Susan Stodola - Beyond the Gates Mentor Training

For the past fifteen years, Susan has worked as a capital mitigation specialist, initially employed by the Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender and then by the State of Arizona Office of Post-Conviction Relief. For the past ten years, Susan has been operating as an independent contractor and is appointed by the Superior Court to join defense teams representing individuals charged with murder and facing the death penalty. As a mitigation specialist, Susan is responsible to piece together the various aspects of the defendant/inmate’s life, focusing on the trauma, the effects of poverty, mental illness, cognitive impairments, environmental hazards and other factors to help explain certain challenges the individual has faced, or factors contributing to the commission of the crime. Susan has also served as an informal mentor to a woman who spent many years locked up at Perryville, after she was released back to the community.