He had been jailed for his civil rights activity in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964, and had argued death penalty cases for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

• 在1964年“自由夏天”期间，他曾因为在密西西比州从事民权活动坐过牢，并为全国有色人种协进会法律辩护基金的死刑案做过辩护。