NOTTINGHAM Law School students reviewed live murder and armed robbery cases on trips to the USA and India.
Five students joined organisations across the US, including a public defender's office in Savannah, Georgia.
Ryan Akhurst, a final-year law with business student, was one of two who worked for public defender Michael Edwards in Georgia, a state which still employs the death penalty.
They were trusted to review four cases, which included murder, rape, armed robbery and sexual battery, by working through the evidence and looking at police reports, witness statements and witness interviews. The students also went to interview clients in jail.
Ryan, 20, said: "The highlight for me was getting cases straightaway.
"On our visit to the jail we saw how little space and privacy each individual really has. But learning about the schemes set up to help and rehabilitate them was very insightful."
Three students also travelled to Kerala in India to work with a human rights group.