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Papers by WIlliam Erlbaum

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Death Penalty: Can We Define Who Deserves Death? A Symposium Held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, May 22, 2002

* In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on e... more * In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on executions, many are calling for serious reform of the system. Even some who would not eliminate the death penalty entirely propose reforms that they contend would result in fewer executions and would limit the death penalty to a category that they call the "worst of the worst." This program asks the question: Is there a category of defendants who are the "worst of the worst?" Can a crime be so heinous that a defendant can be said to "deserve" to be executed? Would such a limited death penalty be supportable morally, philosophically, and constitutionally? ** Martin J. Leahy is a second career lawyer and solo practitioner in New York City. Mr. Leahy came to the practice of law after working twenty years for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is a 1999 graduate of New York Law School, and a 1995 graduate of Hunter College (CUNY). Mr. Leahy has been a member of the Committee on Capital Punishment at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for three years. Mr. Leahy is the subcommittee chair responsible for this program.

Research paper thumbnail of Sharing the Akassa Process: 5 years of building partnerships and seeking sustainability in the Niger Delta

After five years of experimentation in Nigeria's troubled oil-producing Niger Delta, unlikely... more After five years of experimentation in Nigeria's troubled oil-producing Niger Delta, unlikely but remarkable partners who typically won't work together are doing just that! Though in some cases this strange alliance is limited to funding, the emphasis is less on patronage than on partnership, more on sustainability than short-term success. The leaders of the process are the Akassa Clan. Central to the process, needing both peace and having a clear exit strategy, is the oil industry. An NGO facilitates, assisted by local and international volunteers and occasional consultants from a state university. It is a deliberately participatory process, involving all corners of the Clan in problem analysis and decision-making. In the mangroves, ill-educated village people ponder, plan and plunk-out project proposals on their programme's second-hand computers, persuading people to partner them in the implementation of Akassa's Development Programme. Gradually they have drawn into the process numerous stakeholders with wide-ranging social concerns and academic or other interests but perhaps little in common. In Akassa, these oil men, academics, scientists, businessmen and volunteers, governments and donors, variously help ordinary villagers to focus on common problems, promoting income generation through eco-tourism or primary health care by capacity-building. Drag these bodies to a round table and they might not even talk to each other. In Akassa, they actively partner a local cause! Results, Conclusions: This has not been an un-troubled, fault-free nor easy process but it has proceeded beyond questioning: ‘Will it work?’ It does! Now the questions are: ‘Is it sustainable?’ ‘Can it be replicated?’ In the long term, the Akassa will decide these questions themselves by respecting or breaking the forest and fisheries bye-laws they themselves are making as part of this process, or by building and managing the training centre they want instead of ‘chopping’ the donors' funding. Watchful, their neighbours are deciding whether they should extend the process. Some, with help from the oil industry, are already doing so. The Story So Far… SPE Caracas 1998: Pro-Natura International (PNI) gave a verbal account of the (then) BP-Statoil funded ‘reputational project’ that developed into the Akassa Community Development Programme (ACDP), an innovative, community-led initiative in the heart of the troubled, oil-producing Niger Delta. SPE Stavanger 2000: PNI up-dated the progress of the ACDP (see SPE61138 & addendum), seen against the backdrop of fire raging across the Delta as communities warred against oil companies, government and themselves. Akassa was struggling to survive. The need for development had been replaced by the need for emergency relief. However, at the same time President Obasanjo's visit to Stavanger hopefully heralded a new dawn in Nigeria and development in the Delta. Now (November 2001) mindful of the fact that while the Delta appears calmer but remains volatile, the ‘development’ promised by government and donors alike has not yet materialised, PNI asks ‘What can people learn from the Akassa experiment?’ and answers ‘Partnering for a sustainable future’

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Death Penalty: Can We Define Who Deserves Death-A Symposium Held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York May 22, 2002

Pace L. Rev., 2003

* In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on e... more * In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on executions, many are calling for serious reform of the system. Even some who would not eliminate the death penalty entirely propose reforms that they contend would result in fewer executions and would limit the death penalty to a category that they call the "worst of the worst." This program asks the question: Is there a category of defendants who are the "worst of the worst?" Can a crime be so heinous that a defendant can be said to "deserve" to be executed? Would such a limited death penalty be supportable morally, philosophically, and constitutionally? ** Martin J. Leahy is a second career lawyer and solo practitioner in New York City. Mr. Leahy came to the practice of law after working twenty years for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is a 1999 graduate of New York Law School, and a 1995 graduate of Hunter College (CUNY). Mr. Leahy has been a member of the Committee on Capital Punishment at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for three years. Mr. Leahy is the subcommittee chair responsible for this program.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainable Development - End Game Is Good Governance

SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, 2008

Previous papers have described the process facilitated by Pro-Natura International-Nigeria, an NG... more Previous papers have described the process facilitated by Pro-Natura International-Nigeria, an NGO working in the Niger Delta: in 1997 entering the Ijaw swamp community of Akassa, staying to learn from them, befriending them, helping them to understand the problems they described and potential solutions; and, assisting them to build the institutions and grow the capacity they needed to implement their own programmes according to their own perceived priorities. As Lao Tzu predicted, centuries ago, the people then said "We have done this ourselves." Also described is how, 2002-07, elsewhere in this troubled region, other communities have demonstrated that this attractively revolutionary process could be adopted and adapted by communities choosing what a commentator described as "an African solution to an African problem". This paper examines two essentials revealed by our experience: the need for a socially responsible "exit strategy" for the oil industry from the tangled network of community development programmes muddled through with disastrous results over several decades in Nigeria; and, how the process, as it gradually gains wider acceptance, can be made sustainable. It is argued, using field examples, that for the process to work, the oil industry"s concept of "host communities" must be abandoned in favor of inclusive, whole communities, less prone to conflict. Such "whole communities" likewise include all ethnicities and clans, thus not pitting one against another with dangerous short and long-term consequences. The paper discusses in detail some of the pitfalls created by utilizing clans as the unit for development; this strategy has unfortunately been adopted by some major oil companies in their community development work in Nigeria. We note that for effective development, three types of funding are required ("seed", "establishment of Community Based Organization" and "development"). While multiple, cross-sectoral stakeholder partnering with communities is highly desirable now, in the long run sustainability can be guaranteed only by government. In Nigeria, where governance has become an extractive industry of a sort, communities and the private sector, including the oil companies, now have to seize the nettle, together, to leverage good governance, development, peace…and a good operating environment.

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Death Penalty: Can We Define Who Deserves Death? A Symposium Held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, May 22, 2002

* In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on e... more * In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on executions, many are calling for serious reform of the system. Even some who would not eliminate the death penalty entirely propose reforms that they contend would result in fewer executions and would limit the death penalty to a category that they call the "worst of the worst." This program asks the question: Is there a category of defendants who are the "worst of the worst?" Can a crime be so heinous that a defendant can be said to "deserve" to be executed? Would such a limited death penalty be supportable morally, philosophically, and constitutionally? ** Martin J. Leahy is a second career lawyer and solo practitioner in New York City. Mr. Leahy came to the practice of law after working twenty years for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is a 1999 graduate of New York Law School, and a 1995 graduate of Hunter College (CUNY). Mr. Leahy has been a member of the Committee on Capital Punishment at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for three years. Mr. Leahy is the subcommittee chair responsible for this program.

Research paper thumbnail of Sharing the Akassa Process: 5 years of building partnerships and seeking sustainability in the Niger Delta

After five years of experimentation in Nigeria's troubled oil-producing Niger Delta, unlikely... more After five years of experimentation in Nigeria's troubled oil-producing Niger Delta, unlikely but remarkable partners who typically won't work together are doing just that! Though in some cases this strange alliance is limited to funding, the emphasis is less on patronage than on partnership, more on sustainability than short-term success. The leaders of the process are the Akassa Clan. Central to the process, needing both peace and having a clear exit strategy, is the oil industry. An NGO facilitates, assisted by local and international volunteers and occasional consultants from a state university. It is a deliberately participatory process, involving all corners of the Clan in problem analysis and decision-making. In the mangroves, ill-educated village people ponder, plan and plunk-out project proposals on their programme's second-hand computers, persuading people to partner them in the implementation of Akassa's Development Programme. Gradually they have drawn into the process numerous stakeholders with wide-ranging social concerns and academic or other interests but perhaps little in common. In Akassa, these oil men, academics, scientists, businessmen and volunteers, governments and donors, variously help ordinary villagers to focus on common problems, promoting income generation through eco-tourism or primary health care by capacity-building. Drag these bodies to a round table and they might not even talk to each other. In Akassa, they actively partner a local cause! Results, Conclusions: This has not been an un-troubled, fault-free nor easy process but it has proceeded beyond questioning: ‘Will it work?’ It does! Now the questions are: ‘Is it sustainable?’ ‘Can it be replicated?’ In the long term, the Akassa will decide these questions themselves by respecting or breaking the forest and fisheries bye-laws they themselves are making as part of this process, or by building and managing the training centre they want instead of ‘chopping’ the donors' funding. Watchful, their neighbours are deciding whether they should extend the process. Some, with help from the oil industry, are already doing so. The Story So Far… SPE Caracas 1998: Pro-Natura International (PNI) gave a verbal account of the (then) BP-Statoil funded ‘reputational project’ that developed into the Akassa Community Development Programme (ACDP), an innovative, community-led initiative in the heart of the troubled, oil-producing Niger Delta. SPE Stavanger 2000: PNI up-dated the progress of the ACDP (see SPE61138 & addendum), seen against the backdrop of fire raging across the Delta as communities warred against oil companies, government and themselves. Akassa was struggling to survive. The need for development had been replaced by the need for emergency relief. However, at the same time President Obasanjo's visit to Stavanger hopefully heralded a new dawn in Nigeria and development in the Delta. Now (November 2001) mindful of the fact that while the Delta appears calmer but remains volatile, the ‘development’ promised by government and donors alike has not yet materialised, PNI asks ‘What can people learn from the Akassa experiment?’ and answers ‘Partnering for a sustainable future’

Research paper thumbnail of Rethinking the Death Penalty: Can We Define Who Deserves Death-A Symposium Held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York May 22, 2002

Pace L. Rev., 2003

* In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on e... more * In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on executions, many are calling for serious reform of the system. Even some who would not eliminate the death penalty entirely propose reforms that they contend would result in fewer executions and would limit the death penalty to a category that they call the "worst of the worst." This program asks the question: Is there a category of defendants who are the "worst of the worst?" Can a crime be so heinous that a defendant can be said to "deserve" to be executed? Would such a limited death penalty be supportable morally, philosophically, and constitutionally? ** Martin J. Leahy is a second career lawyer and solo practitioner in New York City. Mr. Leahy came to the practice of law after working twenty years for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is a 1999 graduate of New York Law School, and a 1995 graduate of Hunter College (CUNY). Mr. Leahy has been a member of the Committee on Capital Punishment at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for three years. Mr. Leahy is the subcommittee chair responsible for this program.

Research paper thumbnail of Sustainable Development - End Game Is Good Governance

SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, 2008

Previous papers have described the process facilitated by Pro-Natura International-Nigeria, an NG... more Previous papers have described the process facilitated by Pro-Natura International-Nigeria, an NGO working in the Niger Delta: in 1997 entering the Ijaw swamp community of Akassa, staying to learn from them, befriending them, helping them to understand the problems they described and potential solutions; and, assisting them to build the institutions and grow the capacity they needed to implement their own programmes according to their own perceived priorities. As Lao Tzu predicted, centuries ago, the people then said "We have done this ourselves." Also described is how, 2002-07, elsewhere in this troubled region, other communities have demonstrated that this attractively revolutionary process could be adopted and adapted by communities choosing what a commentator described as "an African solution to an African problem". This paper examines two essentials revealed by our experience: the need for a socially responsible "exit strategy" for the oil industry from the tangled network of community development programmes muddled through with disastrous results over several decades in Nigeria; and, how the process, as it gradually gains wider acceptance, can be made sustainable. It is argued, using field examples, that for the process to work, the oil industry"s concept of "host communities" must be abandoned in favor of inclusive, whole communities, less prone to conflict. Such "whole communities" likewise include all ethnicities and clans, thus not pitting one against another with dangerous short and long-term consequences. The paper discusses in detail some of the pitfalls created by utilizing clans as the unit for development; this strategy has unfortunately been adopted by some major oil companies in their community development work in Nigeria. We note that for effective development, three types of funding are required ("seed", "establishment of Community Based Organization" and "development"). While multiple, cross-sectoral stakeholder partnering with communities is highly desirable now, in the long run sustainability can be guaranteed only by government. In Nigeria, where governance has become an extractive industry of a sort, communities and the private sector, including the oil companies, now have to seize the nettle, together, to leverage good governance, development, peace…and a good operating environment.