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The Capital Defender Office (1995-2008) (CDO) was established as part of New York States 1995 death penalty legislation which took effect on September 1, 1995. Under the new law, the State expanded the crime of first degree murder and introduced two new penalties, death and life in prison without possibility of parole, for those convicted. Working from offices in Albany, New York City, and Rochester, the CDO sought to ensure that defendants being tried by the State, who could not afford representation, receive skilled counsel in capital cases. The CDO closed its Rochester office in 2005, and, as no state death penalty cases remain, the Albany and New York City offices in 2008. This collection consists of news clips (filed by subject), subject files, bound records of appeal in the cases of the People v. Cahill, Harris, LaValle, Mateo, McCoy, and Taylor, notebooks with appellate briefs, New York county court papers arranged by county, government studies, reports and debates on capital punishment, annual reports, and a small number of VHS tapes recording court proceedings. There are defendant case files, some with correspondence, court papers, and news clips and others with just news clips.

This collection is predominantly composed of Ernest van den Haag's publications from 1950-2000, including articles in published form, drafts, and related correspondence.

The Herrera Collection contain materials associated with the life and trial of Leonel Herrera, as well as materials included in the book , written by Leonel Herrera's sister, Norma Herrera Ellis.

The Willowbrook Review Panel was a Federal monitoring group established by the U.S. District Court in 1975 and dismissed from its duties in 1987. The Willowbrook Review Panel Records provide extensive documentation of the Panel's main function: monitoring implementation of the 1975 Willowbrook Consent Decree in New York State which set new standards for the care of the facility's residents.