“We can’t have any evidence-based solutions because we don’t have the evidence. We’re not able to gather and collect evidence. That’s why it’s very important that we have the data so that we can know what’s happening,” — A North Carolina criminal justice advocate on the need for a jail database, Report on the Utility […]
Category: Homepage News
Wilson Center Receives Grant Funding for Plea Bargaining Work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11 a.m., Nov. 12, 2021 CONTACT: Melissa Boughton (830) 481-6901 melissa.boughton@law.duke.edu DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law have received just under $900,000 from Arnold Ventures, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies to […]
Event Recap: Henry McCollum, Leon Brown Attorneys Talk Wrongful Convictions
By Annie Han In 1983, Red Springs, North Carolina, 19-year-old Henry McCollum and 15-year-old Leon Brown were wrongfully arrested for the rape and murder of a young Sabrina Buie. With the teens’ intellectual disabilities (McCollum’s IQ being 51 and Brown’s at 49) and the police’s fabricated evidence, McCollum and Brown were extremely vulnerable to coercion, […]
National Harm from Suspending Licenses in Response to Unpaid, Unaffordable Court Fines and Fees
By Annie Han Driving is critical for many people in North Carolina. North Carolinians need to drive to work, to take their children to school, and to complete other everyday tasks like grocery shopping and attending to their health. But, as important as is the right to drive, it can easily be taken away as […]
Wilson Center Releases New Report on NC Fines, Fees, and Driver’s License Suspensions
For some of us, an $80 speeding ticket is an unpleasant inconvenience. Yet for others, particularly those living in poverty, that same ticket can turn into a years-long nightmare of crushing debt and even the loss of their driver’s license altogether. Traffic tickets, infractions, and misdemeanors: these are the lowest level criminal cases. Yet the […]
Everything You Need to Know About Clemency in North Carolina
By Ben Finholt and Jamie Lau On April 8, 2021, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 208, establishing the Juvenile Sentence Review Board. This board is a new mechanism for executive clemency, which has been described as “provid[ing] the ‘fail-safe’ in our criminal justice system.”[1] Often serving as the last resort for someone […]
#StartSmall Provides Wilson Center Almost $500,000 Gift to Fund Forensics Reform Work
The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law is excited to announce a nearly $500,000 gift from Twitter and Square co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall philanthropic initiative, to support a new project aimed at rethinking policy regarding how forensic evidence is used in criminal cases. “Unfortunately, the need for forensics reform has […]
LEAD Program Allows Police Officers to Divert Individuals to Resources Instead of Arrest
By Neiman Araque Charlton Roberson, a Harm Reduction Specialist who works with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Fayetteville, NC, and Cumberland County, said his colleagues working in emergency services or law enforcement often experience compassion fatigue. He explained how repeat offenders often imbue police officers with a sense of hopelessness and despair […]
After One Year, Racial Equity in Criminal Justice Task Force Still Working Toward Change
By Travis Thorpe Jr. Our Gov. Roy Cooper founded the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC) with Executive Order 145 in June 2020. The mission of this task force is to promote equity in the criminal legal system for people of color. The main goal is to address the effects of systemic […]
Connection, Trust, and Recovery: Interview with Eugene Wilson, NC FIT
Editor’s Note: If you’ve ever needed help but weren’t sure where to turn, then you know how important just one trustworthy guide can be. This blog post is part of an occasional series called “Connection, Trust, and Recovery,” by Michele Easter. The series is about how peer supporters can help people who are returning to […]