Rising rates of incarceration in the United States and continuing use of the death penalty in over half of the states in the United States signal a need for more involvement of social workers in forensic roles to mitigate unjust sentencing. The National Association of Social Workers has consistently maintained a professional policy stance in opposition to the death penalty and in support for alternative sentencing plans, citing that the death penalty disproportionately impacts communities affected by poverty and communities of color, and is prone to error. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of educating social workers to mitigation as a primary role among forensic social workers, with a focus on death penalty mitigation with its critical skills and knowledge. After describing mitigation in death penalty cases, we examine four major social work roles in capital cases that expanded education should cover: (1) mitigation investigation, (2) consulting expert, (3) expert witness, (4) teaching expert. This article also addresses important ethical considerations when working as a member of capital defense teams and provides recommendations for social work graduate curricula to tailor content to better prepare students for capital mitigation practice.