Current Fellows

	Kellie Mannette Kellie Mannette received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She recently completed her JD at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, where as co-president of The Innocence Project she and other law students investigated post-conviction claims of innocence. She also represented juveniles in court proceedings in Durham and Orange counties while participating in the Juvenile Justice Clinic. As an intern in the Wake County Public Defender’s Office, she gained valuable experience assisting attorneys in their representation of indigent criminal defendants. Her focus on social justice and public interest law as a student has determined the course she would like to take her career. “During law school I became very passionate about indigent defense. Assisting those facing the highest punishment in my home state of North Carolina is the best way I can envision putting my legal skills into practice.”
	Mark Pickett Mark Pickett comes to FTI after having graduated from the North Carolina Central University School of Law. Mark served on the North Carolina Central Law Review as a staff member and then as a senior editor. Mark also served as secretary of the Public Interest Law Organization. During his first summer of law school Mark interned just down the hall from FTI at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, where his interest and experience in working on death penalty cases developed. Over his second summer Mark interned with the Federal Defender for the eastern District of North Carolina in Raleigh, North Carolina, and this spring Mark interned with the Orange County Public Defender’s Office in Carrboro, North Carolina. On becoming a new fellow Mark said, “Since my first year of law school I have wanted to work in indigent capital defense. I’m especially excited to be working in North Carolina, not just because it is my home state, but also because North Carolina has an amazing collection of organizations working to provide capital defendants with high quality representation. At FTI I know I’ll be getting the best capital defense training in the country.”
	Tamzin Kinnebrew Tamzin graduated from Brown University in 2003 and earned her J.D. from New York University in May 2008 where she served as co-chair of both the Prisoner's Rights and Education Project and Law Students Against the Death Penalty. Tamzin interned with the Federal Defenders of New York where she worked on a variety of criminal defense issues including sex offender registration, fraud and drug trafficking cases. Tamzin also clerked from the Family Defense Clinic at NYU where she represented indigent parents and family members of children in foster care. Tamzin has strong family ties to North Carolina and is glad to be returning to her family's home state. "I chose to attend law school because of my unwavering devotion to social justice," she says. "I believe that the best way I can use my legal advocacy skills is on behalf of indigent and disenfranchised people [facing the death penalty.]" We are thrilled to announce the news that Tamzin was recently hired as the newest member of the Orange-Chatham, NC Public Defenders' Office. She replaces former fellow Mani Carpenter who has left the Public Defender to enter private practice.
	William Durham A native North Carolinian, Will graduated from East Carolina University, in May 2000. He received his J.D. from from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. Will spent his law school summers working for the District of Columbia Public Defender Service and the San Francisco Office of the Public Defender. Since graduating law school, Will has worked as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and with Lawyers for Equal Justice, a non-profit organization that focuses on impact litigation and advocacy for indigent clients. Will's work has included uncovering violations of the Federal McKinney-Vento Act and developing advocacy strategies on issues including Medicaid and Hawaii's food stamp program, child welfare and mental health. Will is excited about the prospect of expanding his practice into the arena of capital defense. "No person is more deserving of the highest quality representation as one threatened with death by his or her government."