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, […]
Tag: Wilson Center for Science and Justice
#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 […]
Wilson Center Welcomes Ben Finholt in New Role Addressing Sentencing, Racial Disparities
Ben Finholt, Director of the Just Sentencing Project, joined the Wilson Center this month. He previously worked at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services. Finholt’s work at the Wilson Center will aim to address extreme sentencing and racial disparities categorically through policy, the courts, and executive clemency, with the goal of developing a model that can be exported nationally. […]
Wilson Center Project Takes Unprecedented Look Into Plea Negotiations
DURHAM, NC – In a unique partnership with the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law, two district attorney’s offices are providing unprecedented access and information about the little-understood world of plea agreements in criminal cases. Durham County (NC) District Attorney Satana Deberry and Berkshire County (MA) District Attorney Andrea Harrington partnered with […]
Wilson Center’s Fall Students Bring Excitement, Passion for Criminal Justice Work
More than 40 students worked with the Wilson Center during the fall semester, with many continuing on with their projects this spring. The Duke University undergraduates, law students, and graduate students worked across more than 10 projects, bringing their excitement and passion for criminal justice research in their work, according to Research Director Dr. William Crozier. “Despite the […]
Wilson Center Executive Director to Return to Private Practice
Thomas Maher, who has served as Executive Director at the Wilson Center, will be departing to return to private practice on January 1. Maher, who has taught criminal trial practice to Duke Law students for nearly 30 years, joined the Center in March 2020. He is returning to criminal defense work in the hopes of […]
Join Our Team: Wilson Center Hiring an Associate Director
The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School is hiring an Associate Director. From the job description: The Wilson Center for Science and Justice aims to conduct interdisciplinary research to advance criminal justice and civil rights. The Center’s mission includes three important components: (1) research, (2) policy and law reform, and (3) […]
NEW: Duke Scientific Integrity Associate Interviews Brandon Garrett About Criminal Legal System
Emilia Chiscop-Head, Ph.D. and Scientific Integrity Associate at Advancing Scientific Integrity, Services and Training (ASIST) recently caught up with Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett about the criminal legal system, structural racism and policing reforms. Brandon L. Garrett, JD is the inaugural L. Neil Williams, Jr. Professor of Law and came to Duke in 2017 from […]
A Look at the Wilson Center’s Work for the Innocent on Wrongful Convictions Day
By: Brandon L. Garrett Today we celebrate international Wrongful Convictions Day, for the sixth time. In those years, we have seen exonerations mount in the U.S. and around the world. New laws directed at recognizing claims of innocence, preserving and testing new evidence, improving forensic science, and combating false confessions, eyewitness misidentifications, and jailhouse informant […]