An Earl Marriott Secondary grad from White Rock recently travelled to Malawi to help improve access to justice.
Max Stone, now a second-year law student at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in California, took part in the school’s Sudreau Global Justice Institute Prison Project.
The Prison Project works to address prolonged detention and improve legal access for people in custody.
Through the project, Pepperdine law students work alongside local legal professionals to review criminal cases and help address court backlogs that can leave people waiting years in custody before appearing before a judge.
This initiative is part of the Sudreau Global Justice Institute’s broader work to help strengthen justice systems and expand access to legal representation.
Stone shared that this year’s trip marked his first time in both Malawi and Africa.
While the law school’s Prison Project has historically focused on Uganda, students this year had the opportunity to work in Malawi.
Stone shared that the institute has spent years helping to support plea bargaining efforts and reduce pre-trial detention.
According to Stone, one of the goals of the trip was to help continue implementing plea bargaining practice through partnerships with local legal aid advocates, law students and justice officials.
The team was able to help complete six pleas during the trip, he said.
For Stone, the experience left a lasting impression beyond just the legal work.
“I think it was the importance of meeting people where they’re at and recognizing the humanity and value in every individual person,” he said.
Stone said he is amazed by the dedication of those involved in the Prison Project.
“They’re actively marshalling their willpower and their sweat, their effort to change other peoples lives across the globe,” he said.
Stone also said he was surprised by the kindness he encountered throughout the trip.
“What struck me with how kind every single person that I met there was,” Stone shared. “No matter if it was a person that we met on the street, somebody working at the place where you’re staying, or a remandee or a convict in the prison.”
(A remandee is a person held in custody – usually in a jail or detention center – while awaiting trial, sentencing, or a further court appearance.)
Stone recounts how talking and meeting with these individuals was an experience unlike communicating with people from Canada and the U.S.
“It was a stark contrast,” said Stone. “Every single person I met was cheerful, extremely pleasant and overwhelmingly kind.”
Stone said the work reaffirmed why he chose to study law in the first place.
“Due process is imperative, and all people, regardless of national origin or class, should be entitled to their day in court and freedom from unlawful detention,” said Stone.
His interest in law has included both religious liberty in the U.S. and on broader human rights issues on an international front.
Stone believes Pepperdine gives him the chance to combine legal education with service around the world.
At the heart of everything, Stone said his motivation is simple.
“I just want to help people,” he said. “I think if more people could find time to do that, the world would probably be a better place.”
To learn more about the Prison Project and the Sudreau Global Justice Institute go to law.pepperdine.edu/global-justice/