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JLC Professor Jason Fabrikant is conducting research on the intersection of criminal justice, police procedures, mental health, recidivism, and public safety. His research project emerged from the tragic murder of SPA student Kevin Sutherland. On July 4, 2015, Kevin boarded a Metro car at Rhode Island Row in Washington, D.C., heading to celebrate the holiday with friends. Just two days prior, 18-year-old Jasper Spires had been arrested for robbery and assault on police. That morning, Spires retrieved his belongings from MPDC and, about six hours later, boarded the same Metro car, where he fatally stabbed Sutherland.

This tragic outcome was the result of an interplay of systems - a deeper understanding of those systems is critical to identifying shortcomings, reducing risks, and preventing future tragedies. The goal of Professor Fabrikant’s research is to learn as much as we can from the tragic loss of Kevin Sutherland in the hope that such tragedies can be averted.

The School of Public Affairs is now accepting applications for undergraduate students, who are interested in researching this important issue and seeking advanced research experiences. Two students will receive $2,500 to conduct this research with Professor Fabrikant faculty for up to a total of 143 hours each over Summer 2025.

The project will involve:
Task 1: Documenting the Tragedy

• Possibly includes conversations with family members (as appropriate) and review of newspaper coverage of Kevin Sutherland’s murder

Task 2: Literature Review

• What is known about pre-trial detention, bail and bail reform, recidivism and mental health, homelessness, predictors of violent crime, offender support services, and other relevant topics?

Task 3: Existing Practices and Data

• What are the relevant CLS policies in the DC that affected the outcome of this case? What practices exist – or could exist - that could have prevented this outcome?
• What other supports are there through the DC Department of Behavioral Health or the Mayor’s Office for Returning Citizen’s Affairs that could have been utilized in this case?
• What administrative, police, or other CLS data exists that demonstrate any trends related to violent crime or recidivism in DC?

Task 4: Recommendations for Practice, Policy and Future Research

• Bail and Bail Reform
  • Including a comparison of jurisdictions with and without a bail system (DC has no bail system anymore) and what is working and not working
  • This will also analyze the judge’s decision to release the defendant on his own recognizance after his first offense
  • Would reimplementing a bail system be beneficial in protecting public safety or too punitive to defendants who cannot afford bail?
• Mental Health
  • How can the role of the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) be helping those defendants most in need?
  • What other DC or federal agencies can assist returning citizens from reoffending, particularly violent crime?
• Recidivism
  • Including a special emphasis on existing research on mental health and propensity to reoffend
• Public Safety
  • Analysis of violent crime in DC, more specifically murder, and similar cases

Sources
The RAs will review periodicals, journal articles, and databases to lay the foundation and background for the Project. For quantitative research they will search for data sets on national, state, DC, and metro crime, particularly violent crime.

Project Plans Memo