Renewing a Commitment to Justice
How the Wilson Foundation is sustaining and advancing the Wilson Center’s impact
The latest from the Wilson Center
Reentry Success in North Carolina Is Closely Linked to the Timing and Continuity of Support
New report demonstrates how early planning, peer support, and location shape reentry success
Our latest resource:
The Life Sentences Dashboard
Users can explore two decades of life sentences in the United States
Latest in the ODonnell Consent Decree
Houston Bail Monitor Report Released
7th report from Monitorship led by Wilson Center Faculty Director Brandon Garrett shows decline in misdemeanor arrests with no negative impact on safety
The Wilson Center leads national and community efforts to reform our criminal legal system, in collaborations, policy work, and research, drawing on the energy and expertise of our students, faculty, and staff at Duke.
Faculty Director and Founder, Professor Brandon Garrett
About the Wilson Center for Science and Justice
The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law works to advance criminal justice and fairness through science and law. The Center's work is non-partisan and evidence-informed. We engage with community stakeholders, academics, and policy makers to conduct and translate interdisciplinary research into effective and practical policy solutions.
Areas of Focus
Improving Fairness and Public Safety
Advancing data-driven solutions to racial, economic, behavioral health, and other structural disparities in the criminal legal system to strengthen communities and improve safety for all
Building Pathways Out of and Diversion from the Criminal Legal System
Improving supports for people as they return to their communities after incarceration and preventing entry into the criminal legal system through alternative models
Preventing Wrongful Convictions
Promoting better forensic practices and legal decision-making to eliminate wrongful convictions and strengthen fairness of and trust in the criminal legal system
Advancing Fair Sentencing and Expanding Pathways to Release
Promoting second chances and fairer sentencing to build a justice system that values accountability, redemption, and public safety
Reducing the Harms of Criminal Legal System Involvement
Reducing behavioral health and financial harms to individuals as a result of criminal legal system involvement to create safer and more stable communities
What's Happening
The latest updates and news from the Wilson Center
News from the Wilson Center
Duke University Researchers Launch Interdisciplinary SAFE HOPE Study to Evaluate Durham Guaranteed Basic Income Program for Reentering Community Members
New Durham-based pilot study explores the impact of choice in direct financial assistance programs on health and recidivism for formerly incarcerated adults Researchers at the Wilson Center for Science and […]
Recap: From Punishment to Prevention
Driver’s License Suspensions: What Other States are Doing Differently Watch the full panel above. On April 23rd, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice hosted the third and final installment […]
Congrats to our graduates!
Nine McAtee JustScience Lab students received their degrees this past weekend This past weekend, almost 7,000 Duke students across campus received degrees after years of hard work. We are proud […]
Research Assistant Karina Lu on Punishment, Reentry, and the Questions that Don’t Fit Neatly into Data
As a freshman competing in moot court, Karina Lu was assigned a hypothetical case about a juvenile given a virtual life sentence. She started reading Eighth Amendment case law, trying […]