Prior to John Jay, Valerie was a Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Crime Community & the Law at Columbia University School of Law, and the Center for Violence Research and Prevention at Columbia University School of Public Health. Her research and scholarship have focused on the interaction of crime, inequality, law, and social policy. Valerie has written extensively on the role of race and place in: capital sentencing; the re-adoption of capital punishment; the capital review process; and incarceration. She is currently examining the neighborhood effects of incarceration and race on voting participation (registration and turnout) in New York City between 1990 and 2002. In addition, she is researching the influence of race on clearance rates for capital homicide and capital sentencing. She is also developing a long-term research project on incarceration and community disenfranchisement.