Clive Stafford Smith

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the death row lawyer Clive Stafford Smith.

Clive Stafford Smith spent more than 25 years representing people on death row. He's saved hundreds of lives and counts his clients among his friends. He says his work is his calling - one he was drawn to after writing an essay on capital punishment while at school. Initially he thought it was a history essay and was appalled to find the death sentence was still in use. He planned to become a campaigning journalist, but a summer spent meeting prisoners on death row inmates convinced him that he would be able to achieve more by representing them directly. So he trained in law and set up his own legal practice to enable him to do so. He has received several awards for his work including, in 2002, the OBE.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis Book: The Koran (in Arabic and English) Luxury: My computer