Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty Honors Dwyer & Collora, LLP

BOSTON (November 6, 2009) In recognition of the wrongful execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, the Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty (MCADP) presented an award to Boston law firm Dwyer & Collora and the firm's co-founding partner, Thomas E. Dwyer, Jr., for the firm's long commitment to the fight to keep the death penalty out of Massachusetts.

Founded in 1928, MCADP is the oldest active anti-death penalty organization in the United States. The organization presented The Herbert and Sara Ehrmann Award to Tom Dwyer, on behalf of the firm, at a ceremony at Suffolk Law School on October 28, 2009.

Tom Dwyer has been an active opponent of the death penalty for over forty years. His passion on this issue was in large measure due to his father, Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Dwyer, Sr., and his father's association with both Herbert and Sara Ehrmann, respectively one of the attorneys handling the Sacco &Vanzetti appeal and the early/longtime executive director of MCADP.

"For over twenty years, Dwyer & Collora has been closely aligned with MCADP," said David Ehrmann, MCADP President. "Since its founding in 1988, whether acting as counsel for defendants in death penalty cases, proposing legislation or now for a decade providing free office space and other financial assistance, the firm has shown unflagging support to MCADP," added Ehrmann.

Previous recipients of the Herbert and Sara Ehrmann Award include Sr. Helen Prejean, Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, Gov. Michael Dukakis, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, and Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justices Edward Hennessey and Paul Liacos. (The full list is available at http://www.mcadp.org.)

"Opposition to the death penalty is in our DNA at Dwyer & Collora," said Tom Dwyer. "Governments exercise awesome power and since our firm's founding my colleagues and I have been animated by the desire to protect the innocent from abuse of that power. For me, it traces back in large part to my father's life-long commitment to justice and protecting the vulnerable," added Dwyer.

According to Dwyer, the battle to keep the death penalty from reinstatement in Massachusetts is an ongoing one. "Members of the legal community opposed to the death penalty must remain vigilant, particularly to fight against the disturbing trend of the federal government imposing the death penalty in cases that should be left to state jurisdiction," added Dwyer.

The Herbert and Sara Ehrmann Award was presented to Tom Dwyer on October 28, 2009 at the Suffolk University Law School. The event was sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty and co-sponsored by Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service, The Pro Bono Project, The National Lawyer's Guild, and The American constitution Society.

Dwyer & Collora, LLP is a litigation firm located in downtown Boston. The firm represents individual and corporate clients in business disputes, white collar criminal cases, employment law, health care matters, and appeals.

For information about Dwyer & Collora visit www.dwyercollora.com.

For more background on Thomas E. Dwyer, Jr. visit http://www.dwyercollora.com/litigation-attorneys/thomas-e-dwyer-jr.aspx

For more information about MCADP and the award reception visit www.mcadp.org.

Thomas E. Dwyer, Jr.

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Steve Quigley
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