Category: Homepage News

Expanded resource now includes 455 DNA exonerations and new findings on false confessions, cited by practitioners nationwide The Wilson Center for Science and Justice has released a major update to its DNA Exonerations Database, adding 80 new cases and bringing the total number of documented DNA exonerations in the United States to 455. The update […]

New report demonstrates how early planning, peer support, and location shape reentry success A new report from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law draws on more than a dozen in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals across North Carolina to uncover the real experiences of people returning from prison and where the […]

The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law is excited to announce the launch of a new public resource: the Forensic Expert Evidence Database, a searchable collection of court decisions addressing when and how forensic expert testimony is admitted in criminal cases. The database brings together reported decisions from courts across all fifty states […]

Announcing a New Webinar Series Life on Hold: The Real Impact of Driver’s License Suspensions Life on Hold is a three-part webinar series examining how driver’s license suspensions in North Carolina reverberate far beyond the roadway. In our state, if someone fails to pay a fine for a traffic infraction or does not show up […]

The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School is pleased to announce that Paul R. Genender (Duke A.B. ’91, J.D. ’94) has joined the Center’s Advisory Board.  Genender is a partner at Paul Hastings LLP, where he serves as co-chair of the firm’s Complex Litigation and Arbitration practice, chair of the Texas […]

A guide for communities implementing diversion programs connecting people to substance use services instead of incarceration Across North Carolina, communities are rethinking how they respond to low-level, non-violent offenses related to substance use—and a new handbook is here to help. We’re excited to share the launch of Pre-Arrest Diversion in North Carolina: A Handbook for Law […]

(L-R) Vivian Sekandi, Craig Waleed, Daquan Peters, and Samantha Richter at the screening of The Alabama Solution Last month, we were privileged to partner with the Duke Justice Project, Duke’s undergraduate group focused on advancing criminal justice, to host a screening and talkback of HBO’s The Alabama Solution. The film exposes abuses and neglect in […]

Users can explore two decades of life sentences in the United States The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke University School of Law has released a groundbreaking new public resource: the Life Sentences Dashboard, a comprehensive, interactive platform bringing together decades of national data on life imprisonment in the United States. The dashboard […]

New gift renews Wilson’s commitment, allowing the Center to continue and expand its work in creating a safer and fairer criminal legal system The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School has received a $5 million gift from Derek Wilson ’86, M.B.A. ’90, P’15 and the Wilson Foundation. This new commitment renews […]

We are proud to present our 2024-2025 annual report, a testament to an extraordinary year of progress. Our research, policy initiatives, and collaborations continue to shape national and local conversations and practices in the criminal justice system. Our team has advanced projects at the intersection of science, law, and policy, with new studies and tools […]