Center receives new grant from the Sozosei Foundation
Expanding Our Leadership on Psychiatric Advance Directives
Working to help more people shape their own care and avoid unnecessary criminal legal involvement
Announcing a new initiative
The SAFE HOPE Study
Interdisciplinary team of Duke researchers will evaluate Durham guaranteed basic income program for reentering community members
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
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
Sozosei Foundation Grant Will Expand Wilson Center’s Critical Leadership on Psychiatric Advance Directives
This funding will support national outreach, training, education, and implementation to help more people shape their own care and avoid unnecessary criminal legal system involvement A new $100,000 grant from […]
Mortality & the Criminal Legal System: Inside the Process of a Wilson Center Research Project
The Project In 2024, more than 20,000 people were released from North Carolina prisons, and over 76,000 were living under community supervision through the Department of Adult Corrections. “These people […]
Beyond Protecting the Innocent
What Americans Really Think About Justice System Errors When a criminal trial goes wrong, either an innocent person is convicted, or a guilty person goes free. Under the U.S. Constitution, […]
Psychiatric Advanced Directives: An Underutilized Practice That Could Change Psychiatric Crisis Care
Filling a Gap: Our Work on Psychiatric Advanced Directives Dr. Marvin Swartz is the lead of the Behavioral Health Team at the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, a Professor […]