The Wilson Center releases new policy brief on criminal fines and fees in North Carolina One in three Americans has been directly impacted by fines and fees related to traffic, criminal, or juvenile court in the past ten years. More than 650,000 North Carolinians, approximately one in 12 adults, have unpaid criminal court debt. […]
Category: Homepage News
When the Dollars Don’t Add Up to Sense
October is National Youth Justice Action Month
April Scales, who was sentenced to life without parole at age 15 and granted clemency by Governor Cooper through the Juvenile Sentence Review Board process last year, spoke with our JustScience Lab students this month. President Biden has proclaimed October Youth Justice Action Month, designed to raise awareness and educate the public about the impact […]
Wilson Center Makes Recommendations to Improve Housing Access
Finding Home: Removing Barriers to Housing for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Over half a million people in the United States are unhoused, and the rate of homelessness among formerly incarcerated individuals is ten times higher than that of the general population, with justice-impacted Black people being 50% more likely to be unhoused than justice-impacted white people. […]
Recruiting Durham Participants for ShotSpotter Focus Groups
The Wilson Center is evaluating community sentiment of ShotSpotter. To do this, we are holding focus group conversations in the neighborhoods where ShotSpotter has been piloted in Durham. We hope the findings from this study will help to inform Durham City Council’s decision on whether to extend the contract with ShotSpotter. Currently, the technology is […]
Durham Events Spotlight Stories from the Criminal Legal System
Durham Events Spotlight Stories from the Criminal Legal System DURHAM, N.C. — April has been proclaimed Second Chance Month in North Carolina, Durham County and nationally. Each year, Second Chance Month highlights the importance — to individuals and communities — of helping people successfully return from incarceration. Members of the public and press are invited […]
Policy Director Angie Weis Gammell Speaks at Hearing on Police Use of Force
East Lansing, Michigan hosted a public hearing in March on police use of force that included experts and community members. Center Policy Director Angie Weis Gammell was invited to speak at this hearing on best practices for use of force policies. Weis Gammell presented the American Law Institute’s Use of Force Principles and discussed how East Lansing […]
Sixth Harris County Bail Monitor Report Released
Center Faculty Director Brandon Garrett, the Independent Bail Monitor in the ODonnell v. Harris County Consent Decree, and Deputy Monitor Sandra Guerra Thompson released their sixth 6-month report last month. The Consent Decree introduced large-scale bail reforms with secured money bonds no longer required for most misdemeanor cases. The monitors found that public safety continues to benefit. Bail reforms […]
NC Supreme Court Imposes Limits on Severe Punishment for Youth
Last week, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued two important decisions concerning the way our state imposes prison time on people who committed crimes when they were children. In State v. Kelliher and State v. Conner, the Court reiterated that children are different than adults and that the North Carolina Constitution imposes “limits on the […]
New Wilson Center Report Highlights 7-Year Evolution of Eyewitness Identification
For Immediate Release: May 20, 2022 DURHAM, N.C. — Eyewitness identification has come a long way in the past seven years — the last time the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) summarized the state of research in that area. There have been important new research contributions and increased adoption of reforms in related practices by courts, […]