2024 Moynihan Prize Winner

“Bryan’s relentless pursuit of justice for poor and marginalized communities both reveals and helps repair the endemic racial bias in our criminal justice system. His fierce advocacy for the wrongly convicted is grounded in unvarnished evidence and inspired by the hope that our shared humanity will bend history toward equal justice,” said AAPSS President Marta Tienda. “The Academy is honored to recognize his work with the Moynihan Prize.”

Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a renowned nonprofit that provides legal representation to people who have been denied a fair trial, wrongly convicted, or unfairly sentenced. The EJI has won major legal challenges—many argued by Stevenson himself—that have helped to exonerate innocent death row prisoners and eliminate the excessive sentencing and abuse of vulnerable prisoners, such as children and the mentally ill. Beyond policy reform, the EJI has erected “Legacy Sites” to explore and address the U.S.’s legacy of racial injustice, provides reentry assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals, and creates research-backed advisory and educational content for advocates and lay audiences alike. Outside his work with the EJI, Stevenson has taught at the New York University School of Law since 1998.

“I am grateful to be recognized among those who use facts and scholarship to combat injustice and improve public policy,” said Stevenson, who accepted the Prize and delivered the 2024 Moynihan Lecture on Social Science and Public Policy on November 18, 2024, in Washington, DC.

A recording of Stevenson’s post-lecture conversation with AAPSS board member Jamelle Bouie will be available soon.