How do wrongful convictions impact crime victims and their families? Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports in @theatlantic.com on the often-ignored lives of crime victims when the wrong person is convicted. Read more:

The Other Victims of a Wrongful Conviction

For years, I reported on one man’s incarceration for a crime he didn’t commit—and ignored the stories of a grieving family who thought they had gotten justice.

theatlantic.com

Rising @sas.upenn.edu senior Lauren Humphrey is spending her summer conducting research and data collection with the Quattrone Center's new Prosecution Lab. She shared about the experience recently with The Daily Pennsylvanian. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hyCJDF

The newly-launched Penn Prosecution Lab is already making a difference. @philadao.bsky.social's @orengur.bsky.social and Eliza Ziegler talked with us about why this kind of collaboration is beneficial for prosecutors offices that want to use data and analytics to inform policy and practice.

If field sobriety tests are notoriously inaccurate, why are we still using them? In a new series from @wsmv.com , three experts from different corners of the criminal legal system provide their thoughts on field sobriety tests and their usage as evidence in courtrooms. Read more: bit.ly/4puoqC9

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the Penn Prosecution Lab. Watch QC Research Director Lindsay Graef and @upenn.edu Associate Professor Dr. Aurélie Ouss discuss this exciting development, and how this embedded model of research can make our criminal legal system more fair and efficient.

Jailhouse informants are a leading cause of wrongful convictions, prompting some states to regulate their use. Journalist @pamelacolloff.bsky.social argues these new safeguards are not enough—we also need to review the old cases. Read the latest from @postopinions.bsky.social: wapo.st/4534jS6

Opinion | He had an incentive to lie. Then he testified in 37 cases.

Jailhouse testimony can earn witnesses a lighter sentence. Is that a problem?

wapo.st

After 12 hours of non-stop interrogation in 1955, Darrel Parker gave John Reid a false confession to murder — generating a technique that led to countless wrongful convictions in US history. @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social discusses the story behind the conviction, the Reid Technique's legacy, and more:

A famed police interrogation technique led to infamous false confessions in Nebraska. We still use it. - Flatwater Free Press

A body of research now suggests that the Reid Technique, first popularized when used in a 1955 Lincoln homicide investigation, can prompt false confessions from suspects. Law enforcement leaders say i...

flatwaterfreepress.org

Recently interviewed by @kcur.org, Miracle of Innocence Co-Founder Darryl Burton argues that wrongfully convicted individuals need more support than the financial compensation they receive post-release. Read about the ways he believes the criminal legal system should support exonerees here:

Exonerated Missouri man says the wrongfully imprisoned need more than money to start a new life

Darryl Burton was exonerated, but found even more hurdles outside of prison trying to find housing and a job. Burton is the co-founder of Miracle of Innocence, a Missouri nonprofit that provides legal...

kcur.org

Our criminal legal system is known for pursuing justice wherever possible and placing people guilty of a crime into prison, but is that what survivors of crime truly want? QC Research Fellow Ethan Lowens offers #OneThing he believes we should be researching more in the field.

New: Back in 2018, I published a summary of studies and surveys about the prevalence of racism in the criminal justice system for the Wash. Post. The idea was for it to be a regularly updated resource. The Post hasn't updated it since I left. So I've updated and reproduced it at The Watch.

A guide to racism in the criminal justice system

A repository of studies, surveys, and reports on the disparate ways white, Black, and Latino people are treated by police, prosecutors, courts, and prisons

radleybalko.substack.com

In 2021, Oregon experienced a sharp increase in fatal drug overdoses. Many attributed the rise to Oregon's new drug decriminalization policy. @brandondelpozo.bsky.social wasn't so sure, so he decided to study the issue. Watch now to see what he found.

Last week, MN Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the suspension of the statewide conviction review unit due to federal funding cuts. Opened in 2020, the unit was praised last year for being "a model for how statewide conviction integrity work should be done.”

Minnesota's Conviction Review Unit closing over "budget constraints," AG Ellison says

Minnesota's Conviction Review Unit is shutting down after losing federal funding, the state's attorney general announced Wednesday.

cbsnews.com

False confessions played a role in 25% of wrongful convictions for murder — and we have clear policy reforms to prevent this grave injustice. QC Assistant Director @marissab.bsky.social digs into how these tragedies happen and the steps to reform.

A lot of research in the criminal legal system focuses on the beginning and end, but what about everything that happens in between? QC Research Fellow Lindsay Graef shares #OneThing she believes we should be researching more in the criminology field.

For the first time in his eight-year tenure, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine commuted the death penalty sentence of Gregory Lott this month. He then went on to call for the abolition of the death penalty in the state, citing the anguish that families feel while waiting for execution as a deterring factor.

Ohio Governor Quietly Granted Mercy Before Plea to End Death Penalty

Weeks before calling to abolish capital punishment in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine commuted the man’s death sentence to life in prison without parole.

bit.ly

Technological advancements are growing the forensic science field faster than ever imagined, but how do practitioners balance that with the need for scientific validity, ethics, and public trust? Perlmutter Center's Sarah M. Chu answers in her latest paper, referencing QC's work on field drug tests.

Move Fast and Strengthen Justice: A framework for responsible technology adoption

Forensic science is undergoing rapid technological expansion driven by advances in artificial intelligence, automation, and data-intensive investigati…

sciencedirect.com

Who powers America's digital courts? In a recent Yale Law Journal essay, Todd Venook explores the growing role of Tyler Technologies in state court software systems and what an increasingly privatized court-technology landscape could mean for courts and the public. Read more:

In a monumental act, KY Gov. Andy Beshear posthumously pardoned 43 people who were convicted of helping enslaved Black Americans become free. In his Juneteenth address, he remarked, "When we have a chance to correct a historical wrong, we should do it." Read more: https://on.thegrio.com/4oM5dvr

Baltimore recently experienced one of the largest homicide declines in the city's history. Penn's Crime and Justice Policy Lab was part of that effort. Learn how they use research, data, and partnerships to support violence prevention efforts—and how they're reaching communities on the West Coast.

Violence Interrupted

The new West Coast office of the Crime and Justice Policy Lab brings together Penn researchers and experienced violence-reduction practitioners, adding to the lab’s prior success in several large East...

omnia.sas.upenn.edu

What's #OneThing in the criminal legal landscape that needs more research? DNA mixtures, says QC Project Manager Adina Thompson.

How many prosecutors do we actually need? QC Academic Director Paul Heaton shares #OneThing he believes is underresearched in the criminal legal field.

Can a defendant lose an appeal but still gain ground? QC Assistant Director @marissab.bsky.social dives into a recent federal case where a judge denied Carvaughn Johnson's habeas corpus petition on procedural grounds, but still asked the state's CIU to revisit potential problems in the case.

QC Academic Fellow Dana Bazelon answers the question we've been asking everyone: what's one area of the criminal justice system that needs more research? What's your answer? Leave it below in the comments!

Big congrats to SMU Law School Asst. Professor (and former QC Fellow) @lauragabelson.bsky.social, who received the Joel R. Reiedenberg Award at the 2026 Privacy Law Scholars Conference for her article, "The Multidimensions of AI Chatbots as Evidence." Read her article: https://bit.ly/4v0WZBH

Grateful to the @quattronecenter.org the innocence community for welcoming this conversation. Forensic DNA and FIGG can help answer difficult questions wherever the pursuit of truth continues. Humans lie. DNA doesn’t. www.resolveforensics.com/post/figg-as...

FIGG as a Tool for Exoneration

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion at the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice Spring Symposium at the University of Pennsylvania.I’m grateful t...

resolveforensics.com

Reporting from @foxcarolina.com indicates that counties in South Carolina are starting to change their practices on field drug tests, and we approve. Get the full story — with comments from QC Assistant Director Ross Miller — here: https://bit.ly/4xalOfZ

QC Senior Advisor John Hollway shares how Sentinel Event Reviews can help us get to the bottom of the countless ways policies and practices intersect to cause injustice and harm in the criminal justice system. Learn more on SERs here: www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/q...

Join us for a virtual book talk with John Lentini to discuss his newly-released book, Twice Burned: A Fire Scientist's Adventures in Overturning and Preventing Wrongful Arson Convictions. June 24, 2026 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET Register here: bit.ly/4ai9Gjd

In Philadelphia, June is Reentry Awareness Month, a monthlong reminder of the struggles that formerly incarcerated people face — including the support needed to avoid legal troubles. Did you know that recidivism rates nationwide have dropped around 20% over the last decade?

Can you imagine what could be possible if we knew how they all intake and screen cases for wrongful convictions and official misconduct? QC Research Project Coordinator Taylor Migliori shares #OneThing she believes need more research in the world of criminal legal reform.