Letter from the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute and the Criminal Justice Institute, about an exciting and important new project at Harvard Law School:
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
We’d like to introduce the Fair Punishment Project (FPP), a brand new initiative brought to you by Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice and its Criminal Justice Institute.
The Fair Punishment Project uses legal research and educational initiatives to ensure that the U.S. justice system is fair and accountable. The Project works to highlight the gross injustices resulting from prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective defense lawyers, and racial bias and exclusion. We are dedicated to illuminating the laws that result in excessive punishment, especially the death penalty and juvenile life without parole.
We’ll be releasing our first report in the next day or two, so keep an eye out–you don’t want to miss it.
Future reports will highlight the troubling attributes that outlier death penalty counties have in common, examine America’s top 10 deadliest prosecutors, and look deeply into counties that are plagued by prosecutorial misconduct.
The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute was launched in 2005 by Harvard Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr, and is led by David Harris and Johanna Wald. The Institute serves as a critical bridge between scholarship, law, policy, and practice to solve the challenges of a multi-racial society.
The Criminal Justice Institute, also founded by Charles Ogletree, trains Harvard Law School students who will be the next generation of ethical, effective, and passionate defense lawyers. Led by Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., the Institute conducts research on the criminal and juvenile justice systems in order to achieve local and national reform.
The Fair Punishment Project will strive to be a valuable resource for anyone and everyone who is interested in bringing about a fair and equitable justice system. We hope you will visit our website at www.fairpunishment.org to learn more about our work, and that you will join us as we address one of the most critical issues of our time.
Thank you,
David J. Harris, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute
Charles J. Ogletree, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute
Ron Sullivan, Criminal Justice Institute