For the past three years, Professor Andrew Haile and first-year students in the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) program have worked with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a Dorchester-based community organization that supports and serves individuals and families whose loved ones were murdered in the Boston area. The LSSC project this year, Unsolved but Not Forgotten, focused on the backlog of unsolved homicide cases in Boston. Under Haile’s supervision, students researched police departments’ policies, trainings and approaches to solving unsolved criminal investigations.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to partner with Peace Institute founder Clementina Chéry and the many brave survivors who’ve met with my students and shared their stories. The Peace Institute is doing incredible work to reduce violence and promote healing in our city, and it’s been a joy to be a part of it these last few years,” said Haile.

Students also met with the Peace Institute’s survivor ambassadors, each of whom had a loved one whose killing remains unsolved, as well as with representatives from the Boston Police Department’s Unsolved Homicide Squad and the district attorney’s office. The LSSC team’s recommendations include establishing a firm schedule of communication with survivors, creating an FAQ page and publishing an unsolved homicides database and an annual homicide clearance report. In April, MassLive reported on the student recommendations.