News

By Alexi DeLara  In recent decades, researchers, judges, and journalists have raised questions regarding the reliability of a range of widely utilized forensic techniques. This includes, but is not limited to, forensic comparison methods, such as latent fingerprint and firearm comparisons. The article, “Mock Jurors’ Evaluation of Firearm Examiner Testimony Notes,” written by Brandon L. […]

The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School is hiring an Associate Director. From the job description: The Wilson Center for Science and Justice aims to conduct interdisciplinary research to advance criminal justice and civil rights. The Center’s mission includes three important components: (1) research, (2) policy and law reform, and (3) […]

By Brandon Garrett Last night, Roger Hood, a champion of justice and international leader in criminology and in death penalty research, the founder of the Centre of Criminology at Oxford, and the greatest friend and mentor, to myself and countless other scholars, passed away in Oxford. His most recent work examined the death penalty in […]

Dr. Marvin Swartz, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University and part of the Wilson Center’s Behavioral Health Core, served as a consultant for a new My Mental Health Crisis Plan app and SAMHSA’s psychiatric advanced directive (PAD) toolkit. Psychiatric News published an article last week about the app, which provides a […]

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of an occasional series from the Wilson Center’s Michele Easter examining the intersection of nature and agriculture to support recovery, resilience, and community success within justice-involved communities. The logo for this series was created by Pitch Story Lab, the student-run creative agency at Duke University. By Michele Easter I […]

A U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan cited research from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice in an order this week granting an incarcerated man compassionate release. Desmond Reginal Rodgers was serving 200 months in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery, pharmacy robbery and a firearms charge in 2012. The […]

By De’Ja Wood and Sydney Gaviser  Felony disenfranchisement rates are highest in Southern states, including in North Carolina, where voting restrictions passed during the Jim Crow era aimed to limit the political power of Black men.   The Sentencing Project estimates that more than 5 million people across the nation will not be able to vote […]

Big news this week from the city of Durham: The Durham Expunction and Restoration (DEAR) Program has extended relief from court debt to more than 11,000 people whose drivers’ licenses were suspended because of inability to pay traffic fines and fees. During 33 court sessions over the past two years, the Durham County District Attorney’s […]