AN aspiring human rights barrister is set to travel to travel 4,000 miles across the world to help prisoners on death row.

Chloe Ashley, 25, of Great Malvern, will take the trip of a lifetime to Houston, Texas, to complete an internship with Amicus – an organisation that provides representation to those who face the death penalty.

She will provide legal assistance for prisoners who could otherwise not afford it during her time with the charity, which was founded in 1992 in memory of Andrew Lee Jones who was executed by the state of Louisiana.

Miss Ashley, a former student of The Chase School, said: “The reason I wanted to complete the internship is because I believe that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on the most vulnerable in society, violating their right to due process and the concept of equal justice before the law.

“Amicus has been so successful because it is not a campaigning organisation.

“Rather, it believes it can make the greatest difference through active involvement in frontline work, in particular, by sending legally qualified interns like me to support attorney's work in the USA.”

Unlike the UK, in America there is no minimum level of experience required to defend a capital trial - which can lead to inexperienced lawyers, according to Miss Ashley.

She added that recent cases have illustrated a significant number of US citizens have almost been executed because of poor representation from the state, highlighting that the quality of legal support in a capital trial is literally a matter of life and death.

But the Malvern woman is fully aware that capital punishment splits public opinion.

“Having previously worked for several organisations including Reprieve I am all too aware that there are a great mix of views on capital punishment; but, criminal cases are by their nature serious and complex legal proceedings, and as a field of law it constantly changes”, said Miss Ashley.

“Further, given the men and women’s liberty at stake in death penalty trials and the current issues with the lethal injection it is vitally important that prisoners on death row are properly represented.

“As such it is only right that the process remains fair for both sides in order to reach a credible conclusion. That is why interns like me are so crucial to the process”.

Miss Ashley’s work will involve everything from supporting the policy teams involved in a state-wide investigations, investigating and conducting discovery research of pre-trial material in murder cases, drafting cross-examinations and preparing amicus curiae briefs for the Supreme Court, as well as day-to-day contact with prisoners.

“Simply put, completing an Amicus internship is an unequivocal choice for me; it offers the opportunity to do something genuinely of use to society, helping those who need it most”, she added.

The cost of Miss Ashley’s internship is expected to be £5,400. She has already raised £3,650 and is now looking for some much-needed local support.

She said: “Any financial sponsorship anyone is able to provide will be invaluable and I sincerely mean that. If all you can give is a couple of pounds it will matter just as much as any larger donation”.

To donate visit gofundme.com/sendmetodeathrow or for more details email Miss Ashley on c.e.ashley@icloud.com