From the Dean Dear Friends:
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The Duke Center for Science and Justice will create new opportunities for students and faculty across the university to study and improve accuracy of evidence in criminal cases, analyze the role of risk in criminal outcomes, and identify the treatment needs of individuals with mental health or substance abuse problems as an alternative to arrest and incarceration.
arly in our relationship, when we were both young attorneys, I recall my husband, Brandon Garrett, telling me how excited he was to have drafted a complaint in the case brought by Yusef Salaam against the City of New York. Salaam and four other boys had been convicted and imprisoned when they were only 14 and 15 years old for a crime they did not commit — the brutal rape of jogger in Central Park. Exonerated by DNA testing in 2001, they were suing for civil damages, and Brandon was an associate on their legal team. Sixteen years later, in early September, I had the honor of welcoming Salaam and Raymond Santana — two of the group now known as the Exonerated Five — to Duke Law School to speak to our students. In front of an overflow crowd, they recounted the story that had been so vividly brought to life in last spring’s Netflix series “When They See Us,” then stayed for nearly 45 minutes shaking hands and taking selfies. It was an electrifying moment for our community. I was doubly excited that the event marked the launch of the new Duke Center on Science and Justice, directed by Brandon, who is now the L. Neil Williams, Jr. Professor of Law. This new center will apply legal and scientific research to reforming the criminal justice system and eliminating errors like the ones that led to the injustices experienced by the Exonerated Five. For years, I’ve witnessed Brandon’s tireless work on criminal justice reform research as he has become a leading scholar on these issues. But I’ve also long known about the amazing work of Duke’s criminal law faculty, including Sam Buell’s pathbreaking work on corporate crime, Lisa Kern Griffin’s investigations into truth, confession, and error in criminal cases, and Sara Sun Beale’s extensive contributions to our understanding of federal criminal law. In fact, Duke’s leadership in this field was one of the things that attracted Brandon and me to Durham last year.
We were also attracted by Duke Law’s long history of identifying and addressing the problem of wrongful convictions, including through our clinical program and our student-led Innocence Project. These cases often require heroic efforts and take years to come to resolution. In May, our Wrongful Convictions Clinic secured the release of Ray Finch, now 81, who had served 43 years for a murder he did not commit; Professor James Coleman had worked on the case for 15 years. In August, the clinic’s efforts, led by Professor Theresa Newman since 2010, freed Dontae Sharpe, who served 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. And as this issue of Duke Law Magazine was going to press, Professors Coleman, Newman, and Jamie Lau and their students were fighting on behalf of a half-dozen clients in state and federal courts and reviewing the cases of many others in the pipeline. Science can play a key role in these cases, in both good and bad ways. DNA analysis has been a key tool for proving innocence, as it did for Salaam and Santana. But increasingly lawyers and scholars are re-examining faulty science presented at trial — both in attempts to overturn wrongful convictions as well as to prevent mistakes in the future — and using sound scientific methods and data to understand other ways in which the criminal justice system can be improved. The Duke Center for Science and Justice will create new opportunities for students and faculty across the university to study and improve accuracy of evidence in criminal cases, analyze the role of risk in criminal outcomes, and identify the treatment needs of individuals with mental health or substance abuse problems as an alternative to arrest and incarceration. It will also reach across campus to partner with colleagues in medicine, arts and sciences, public policy, and other disciplines, to generate new insights and ideas for systemic reform. The system failed Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, just as it failed Ray Finch and Dontae Sharpe. But it is inspiring to see our community of lawyers, scholars, and students doing something about it. I hope you enjoy reading more about the center and the many other exciting projects going on at Duke Law. And as always, I so appreciate your friendship and support. Regards,
Kerry Abrams James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean and Professor of Law
