Why are states so bad at lethal injection? Professor Corinna Lain opened her September 22 talk to students and faculty at Duke University with this thought-provoking question. From executions lasting hours to prisoners waking up during the procedure and receiving 18 to 20 puncture wounds, lethal injection has repeatedly failed to operate as ‘smoothly’ as […]
Jennifer Melton
Ahead of Wrongful Conviction Day, New Report Examines Police Interrogation Policies Nationwide
Analysis by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law identifies opportunities to strengthen safeguards against false confessions As communities mark International Wrongful Conviction Day on October 2, a new report from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law examines how police departments across the country can strengthen safeguards against […]
Making Reentry Easier to Navigate
New guides give service providers practical tools to help clients overcome legal, policy and practical barriers What happens after incarceration? For many people, the challenges are far from over. Approximately 20,000 people are released from North Carolina prisons each year. State-wide, more than 90% of people currently incarcerated will eventually return to their families and […]
Making reentry easier to navigate
Our Year in Review
What does a year of research, collaboration, and action look like? Our new 2025–2026 Annual Report offers a look at the Wilson Center’s work over the past year—and the people making it possible. This year, we: Engaged 34 students in research, advocacy, and direct representation Expanded our national databases on life sentences, forensic evidence, and […]
Our Year in Review
What does a year of research, collaboration, and action look like? Our new 2025–2026 Annual Report offers a look at the Wilson Center’s work over the past year—and the people making it possible. This year, we: Engaged 34 students in research, advocacy, and direct representation Expanded our national databases on life sentences, forensic evidence, and […]
Filling the Legal Gap for Incarcerated Children
Equal Justice Works Fellow Sam Lawrence is working to ensure children have an advocate while they are incarcerated—and building a model for broader access to counsel Sam Lawrence In most states, a child’s right to counsel ends at disposition, meaning kids sent to youth prisons typically never speak to a lawyer while they are there. […]
A Path Forward
New Report: How Unauthorized Practice of Law Reform Can Increase Psychiatric Advance Directive Completion in North Carolina Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) give people living with serious mental illness an important opportunity to plan for future mental health crises while they are able to make and communicate their own decisions. By documenting treatment preferences and appointing […]
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 the Sozosei Foundation will support the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law in expanding access to Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs), legal tools […]