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Learning From the Henry McCollum and Leon Brown Exonerations

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Monday, September 27, 2021
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Henry McCollum and Leon Brown were intellectually disabled teenagers (brothers) when they were coerced into confessing to a murder they didn't commit and sentenced to death. They spent 31 years in prison before DNA testing proved their innocence, and by the time of their release in 2014, Henry had served the longest death row sentence in North Carolina. Join the Wilson Center for Science and Justice for a discussion with Ken Rose, former director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, attorney and death penalty abolitionist, and David Maxwell, a Duke Law alum ('14) and attorney at Hogan Lovells. Rose will talk about his role in helping to exonerate McCollum and Brown, and Maxwell will discuss his role in winning the largest-ever jury verdict in a wrongful conviction case for the brothers. They'll both speak about what can be learned from McCollum's and Brown's exonerations. Wilson Center Director Brandon Garrett will moderate, and there will be time for Q&A. Registration is required: https://bit.ly/McCollumBrown. Co-sponsored by the Wilson Center, Duke Law Innocence Project® and the Criminal Law Society. For more information, contact Marlyn Dail at wcsj@law.duke.edu.