LEWISTON – A national expert on the death penalty will speak at an Amnesty International meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at Lewiston-Auburn College. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Professor Kimberly J. Cook, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Southern Maine, earned her Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in 1994.

Some of her recent publications include “Divided Passions: Public Opinions on Abortion and the Death Penalty” and “Abortion, Capital Punishment and the Politics of God’s Will.” Cook was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2001 to conduct research on restorative justice at the Australian National University.

The meeting of the USM/L-A Amnesty International chapter will be held in Room 170 at the college, which is located at 51 Westminster St.