{"id":19887,"date":"2026-08-12T08:47:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T08:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodearth.org.in\/connect\/?p=19887"},"modified":"2026-08-12T08:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T08:47:36","slug":"kunal-ambasta-on-criminal-defence-and-the-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodearth.org.in\/connect\/beyond-the-fence\/kunal-ambasta-on-criminal-defence-and-the-death-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Kunal Ambasta on Criminal Defence and the Death Penalty | Beyond the Fence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e2e2e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-stretch fusion-flex-justify-content-center\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;box-shadow:0px 0px 0px 0px ;;padding: 0px 15px 6px 15px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1 fusion-text-no-margin\" style=\"margin-bottom:-10px;\"><h1>Beyond the Fence: Kunal Ambasta on Criminal Defence and the Death Penalty<\/h1>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:900px;max-height:506px;align-self:center; width:100%;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top:56.22%;\" ><iframe title=\"YouTube video player 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Jbn4Cz6Jhww?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2 fusion-text-no-margin\" style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><p>The next episode of Beyond the Fence is here.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the Fence is our series of conversations with residents of Goodearth about the work they do and the interests that shape them. This time, we sit down with Kunal Ambasta, a criminal defence lawyer who works on anti-terror cases, general criminal defence, and post-sentencing interventions for prisoners on death row. He teaches law at NLSIU and has been part of the queer rights movement in India for over a decade.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation moves through what it means to defend people the system has already condemned, the moral weight of losing a case where losing means someone dies, and how a decade of teaching and litigating shapes the way you see the law itself.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 20px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 15px !important;margin-right : 0%;padding-bottom : 6px !important;padding-left : 15px !important;margin-left : 0%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 0%;margin-left : 0%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-right : 0 !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-left : 0 !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-1{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e2e2e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-flex-container.fusion-builder-row-2{ padding-top : 0px;margin-top : 0px;padding-right : 0px;padding-bottom : 0px;margin-bottom : 0px;padding-left : 0px;}<\/style><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-3 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#e2e2e2;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div 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