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Organizations to US Attorney: Reduce Prison Population to Minimize COVID Risks

March 17, 2021

The Wilson Center for Science and Justice is one of several organizations that signed on to a letter last week urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to augment efforts to transfer federal incarcerated persons to home confinement and pursuant to … Continue Reading →

Reentry Event Highlights Need For More Resources

March 16, 2021

By De’Ja Wood

On Tuesday, March 9, Alice Marie Johnson and Dontae Sharpe joined the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law to discuss community re-entry challenges for those people who have been incarcerated.

Johnson is a criminal … Continue Reading →

Slobogin & Garrett’s ‘Law on Police’ and Reforms Today

March 12, 2021

By Annie Han

Months of Black Lives Matter marches across the nation followed the tragic murder of George Floyd to protest police use of excessive force against Black individuals. Professors Brandon L. Garrett of Duke Law School and Christopher Slobogin … Continue Reading →

Virginia Sentencing Commission References Wilson Center Work, UVA Colleagues in Annual Report

March 10, 2021

By Chinmay Amin

In its yearly report, the Virginia Sentencing Commission directly cited a recent paper co-authored by Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett and colleagues John Monahan and Anne Metz.

The Commission is a state judicial branch agency made up … Continue Reading →

Research Seeks to Assess How Eyewitness ID Speed is Interpreted Regarding Accuracy

March 9, 2021

By Ruthie Kesri

Criminal justice is front and center this election season. Politicians across the country are increasingly aware of the need for reforms addressing the high risk of wrongful conviction within this system.

“Eyewitness Identification Speed: Slow Identifications from … Continue Reading →

Houston Bail Monitor One-Year Report Shows Increased Releases, Reduced Use of Cash Bail

March 8, 2021

HOUSTON, T.X. – The independent monitors overseeing Harris County’s historic bail reform agreement filed their report describing their first year of work and findings with the federal court this week, noting an increase in releases, a reduced use of cash … Continue Reading →

Curtis Flowers, Attorney Talk Justice, Death Row, Innocence and Hope for a Better Legal System

March 1, 2021

By Annie Han

Curtis Flowers recently joined The Wilson Center to discuss his experience of being tried six times for the same four murders he didn’t commit and serving 23 years on death row. He was joined by his North … Continue Reading →

Ongoing Research Offers Insight into Implementing Psychiatric Advance Directives

February 26, 2021

By Belle Allmendinger

People with severe mental illness, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, can experience crisis in which they are unable to make competent decisions and by themselves cannot give consent to treatment. As a result, they may be … Continue Reading →

Roundtable: There are Better Alternatives to Police Response in Behavioral Crises

February 22, 2021

By Ruthie Kesri

Responding safely to behavioral health crises requires sensitivity, extensive training and de-escalation practice. Police have become the de facto first responders to those crises despite rarely receiving adequate training to safely and effectively handle the situation.

The … Continue Reading →

Urban Institute Report: NC Revocations on Decline Thanks to Justice Reinvestment Act

February 18, 2021

By Annie Han

The Urban Institute recently released an assessment of the outcomes from changes made to the Supervision Revocation Policy in 2011. The report examines outcomes for individuals on probation, post-release supervision, and parole supervision before and after the … Continue Reading →

Durham Invests in Police Alternative to Address Gun Violence

February 16, 2021

By De’Ja Wood

The 2020 murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others catalyzed national protests against the police state and discourse about the need to reimagine public safety. Organizers across the nation, including in … Continue Reading →

The Key to Public Safety? Time, and Officers Need More of It

February 11, 2021

By Brandon Garrett

I recently spoke to Washington state legislators about the proposed HB 1310, a bill introduced in January that concerns permissible uses of force by law enforcement and correctional officers.

I explained, in brief remarks, that it has … Continue Reading →