Nearly one million people have had their driver’s license suspended for court debt. To solve this problem, we need to end debt-based driver’s license suspensions for all. By Lindsay Bass-Patel and Rita Grunberg Did you drive your car today? Maybe you drove to work, to church, or to your kids’ school. Maybe you went […]
Category: News
Recap: Life after Life
Formerly incarcerated discuss experiences behind bars and the importance of second chances Duke Decarceration Project Members with Shariff Ingram and Kolanda Wooten This semester, we were honored to join the Duke Decarceration Project and Duke’s Criminal Defense Clinic in welcoming Shariff Ingram and Kolanda Wooten to Duke Law. Both Mr. Ingram and Ms. Wooten were […]
Community Safety, Driver’s License Suspension, and Fairness: Lessons from NCLF
Recap from our Webinar Last month we cohosted a webinar with our colleagues at the North Carolina Leadership Forum (NCLF), featuring: Sen. Warren Daniel, North Carolina State Senator (District 46) serving Buncombe, Burke and McDowell Counties Frankie Roberts, Executive Director of LINC, which provides reentry services for people leaving incarceration Matt Scott, District Attorney for Robeson […]
Recap: Perspectives on American Gun Violence
The epidemic of gun violence in the United States is a multifaceted problem that claimed nearly 47,000 lives in 2023. Firearm injuries and deaths touch countless others as well – from bereaved family members to affected communities suffering the collective loss and trauma of everyday gun violence. In a nation where private ownership of firearms […]
Highlights from our Beyond Bars Event
We were so grateful to partner with the Nasher Museum to host an event in conjunction with the exhibit Processing Systems: Numbers by Sherrill Roland. The exhibit features work by Sherrill Roland, Assistant Professor of Sculpture at the University of North Carolina from his ongoing exploration of the criminal justice system. The works are part […]
Out now! Our 2023-2024 Annual Report
We are delighted to release our 2023-2024 annual report, which details our work over the last fiscal year! We’ve expanded our work in both the policy and the research arenas across all our focus areas: accuracy of evidence, behavioral health, and equity in criminal outcomes. We’ve worked on projects related to bail reform, criminal fines and […]
Recap: Community-Based Approaches to Gun Violence
“I’ve never met a single person who has come from prison for killing someone with a gun, who hasn’t been harmed at some point in their life,” said Co-Chair of the Durham City and County Taskforce on Community Safety Marcia Owens. Her comment gets to the heart of an issue surrounding gun violence. How can […]
New Wilson Center report explores alternatives to law enforcement transport for people experiencing behavioral health crises
For too many people experiencing acute mental illness, cries for help bring police and handcuffs rather than compassionate medical intervention. But this doesn’t have to be the case. The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law explores this issue and makes recommendations in our latest report: Changing the Route: Seeking Compassionate Alternatives to […]
New Report: Wrongful Convictions in North Carolina
Today marks International Wrongful Convictions Day – a day designed to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful convictions and to shed light on the tremendous harms wrongful convictions have on individuals, their families, and communities. Since 1989, 75 people have been exonerated in North Carolina. Collectively, these exonerees lost 963 years to […]
Tyler Kendall joins Wilson Center for Science and Justice
Kendall becomes Research Director, leading the Center’s research efforts Tyler Kendall has joined the Wilson Center for Science and Justice as the Center’s Research Director. Here he will guide the research efforts, working closely with the leadership team and the policy team to align research and policy efforts. He will support our work to engage […]