Remembering prof. Welsh White

Pitt professor and a nationally renowned expert on the death penalty Welsh White died on Dec…. Pitt professor and a nationally renowned expert on the death penalty Welsh White died on Dec. 31 at the age of 65.

White, who had been battling lung cancer, started working at Pitt in 1968. He taught courses including evidence, criminal law and criminal procedure.

“He was a wonderfully kind and decent person,” said Pitt law professor John Burkoff. “He was very funny, a good teacher and a real character.”

One of White’s former students Lori McMaster, a 1986 graduate of Pitt Law, recalls wardrobe mishaps as a common occurrence when attending class. It was rumored that on one particular occasion, White showed up wearing two ties.

“He was a bit like the stereotypical absentminded professor,” McMaster joked. “He was almost too smart for his own good sometimes.”

White is known across the country for his interest in both the death penalty and the Fifth Amendment. He was the author of three books, as well as several articles and essays. One of his books, “Litigating in the Shadow of Death: Defense Attorneys in Capital Cases,” was just published at the start of 2006. He was also the Bessie McKee Walthour Endowed Chair at Pitt Law as of last year.

Before coming to Pitt, White practiced law in Philadelphia at the firm White and Williams and worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. He attended Harvard for his undergraduate degree and the University of Pennsylvania for his law degree.

White had worked defending criminal defendants, often in capital cases. He was most interested in the constitutionality of the death penalty and the methods that police use when interrogating.

“He had a real passion for human rights,” Burkoff said. “He believed very strongly that the way which the death penalty is carried out in the United States is unfair and inhumane and violates the Constitution. He stood up for what he believed and was very influential in doing that.”

For the last 10 years, White studied police interrogations and confessions. He was interested in the civil liberties of people dealing with the law as well as the lawyers that defend them.

“He had a way of really getting to the human side of the law,” Pitt law professor Ronald Brand said. “And there aren’t many issues that get to the human side of the law like the death penalty.”

And though sometimes it seemed that White’s life consisted of nothing but his work, as he was often the first to arrive in the morning, he also loved to play chess and tennis.

His family was a large part of his life, too. Spending time with his wife, Linda Timmons White, his four children – Kathryn White-Hawkins, Ryan, Henry and Robin White – and his three grandchildren was always a top priority.

Never difficult to approach, White was admired by his students for his willingness to help.

“He was very exacting as a professor, but he treated his students with courtesy and respect,” McMaster said. “He just challenged us to do our best.”

Pitt law professor Harry Flechtner remembers White’s willingness to help him 21 years ago when he was a new professor at the University. Taking Flechtner aside, White asked for his advice about a classroom problem.

“He wasn’t asking just to boost my ego,” Flechtner said. “He was genuinely interested in what I had to say.”

This interest in others led to White’s national reputation for being of help to young law professors – especially ones in the criminal law field.

“He was an established star, but would always take the time to help,” Flechtner said.

Just two days before White’s death, Brand remembers visiting him. Though he was bed-ridden and uncomfortable, he was elated by the fact that he had a copy of his new book. White asked Brand to read it to him. After beginning, he warned that he wouldn’t take the time to read the footnotes, but White insisted. This need for specificity was inherent in White.

“You see, when he did anything, he did it completely and he did it in detail,” Brand said. “His footnotes were both important and human. And in anything he did, he wanted to understand it completely.”

White’s love for his work, along with his unassuming and kind nature, made him popular among both his students and his colleagues.

“He was dedicated to his scholarship, but he’s the kind of person that was also dedicated to the institution and the people around him,” Brand said.

There will be a memorial service held at Heinz Chapel today at 3 p.m. It will be followed by a reception at the School of Law.