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Judi Caruso
Judi Caruso was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland . It was on the streets of Belfast that her abhorrence of violence and the seeds of her peace activism were sown.
She came to the United States in 1985 on a tennis scholarship to New Mexico State University . After attaining her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages with a minor in government, Judi played semi-professional tennis for a year. In 1990, she was accepted 
to the University of New Mexico School of Law and decided to trade in the courts of her first love, for the courts of “justice.” At law school she was fortunate to be taught by some of the most brilliant legal minds in the country: Jim Ellis, Barbara Bergman, and James Liebmann. She is forever grateful for their sheer brilliance, encouragement, and inspiration. After graduating from law school in 1993 and until 1995, Judi clerked for the honorable Martha Vazquez, federal district Judge for the district of New Mexico, who taught Judi that judges do not have to leave common sense and compassion at the courthouse door.
In 1995, Judi’s first daughter was born. Within four years, Judi was a mother of three. During this time, with the tremendous support of her husband, she became actively involved in human rights work. After attending a presentation by Randall Dale Adams, she signed up to volunteer with the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty and there has been no turning back ever since. Judi has been a member of the steering and government committees of the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty since 1998. In 2000, she became outreach coordinator for Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation-NM. She was recently elected to the Board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Judi speaks regularly about the death penalty and often accompanies Juan to law schools, university classes and high-schools where she supplements his presentation from a legal/activist perspective. Judi is fluent in Spanish and French and has been called upon by domestic and European media with increasing frequency to address death penalty issues in these languages. Judi currently practices as a criminal defense attorney, primarily representing indigent clients.
Judi’s tenacity on the tennis courts where she learned her first passion has “served” her well in pursuing her current passion,which is fighting to ensure justice for all people, especially for those who are least able to ensure it for themselves.