criminal justice reform
Senate budget would expand medical release for aging, sick prisoners
State senators have proposed expanding the eligibility criteria for the medical release of people in North Carolina prisons, potentially giving thousands of sick and aging people in state custody an opportunity to go home before they die. The law change, which can be found on page 310 of the Senate budget, comes after an NC […]
New report considers role of probation and parole in mass incarceration
A new report from the Prison Policy Initiative looks at the ways the “mass supervision” of people on probation and parole contributes to mass incarceration, giving a more thorough picture of the expansiveness of the U.S. criminal justice system. “Understanding how each state fares in probation and parole in addition to its systems of confinement […]
Criminal justice reformers lobby for ‘second chances’ for formerly incarcerated people
Ten years ago, Dennis Gaddy stood beside the Rev. William J. Barber II at the state Legislative Building to protest a conservative General Assembly’s agenda that they believed threatened voting rights and funding for education and social services. On Tuesday, the men once again stood beside one another outside the Legislative Building and urged the […]
Panel discusses the trauma of prison, and the challenges to adjusting to life outside its gates
Of all the things he hadn’t seen in the last 14 years, Tyrone Baker most wanted to see the night sky. He wanted to gaze at the stars without being told he needed to get back in his cell. But if the vast expanse of the darkness above proved comforting, the low ceilings in his […]
Assisting prisoner reentry, new bill would pay formerly incarcerated stipend for food, housing and clothes
A bill filed last week would require the Department of Adult Correction to give indigent people exiting its prisons monthly stipends for housing, food, clothing and transportation for up to six months after their release. The proposal, filed on April 20 and sponsored by nine Democrats representing Durham, Mecklenburg, Cumberland, Guilford, Wake and Orange counties, […]
NC House budget expands prisoners’ access to college education
The House budget bill released by Republican leaders last week includes a $4 million influx of cash to broaden incarcerated people’s opportunities to earn associate’s and bachelor’s degrees while they are imprisoned. The recurring funding would bump the net appropriation for prisoner education to $13.9 million for each of the next two years. That’s a […]
NC Supreme Court justice discusses work of Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice at Greensboro event
Anita Earls touts progress in combating criminal justice inequities, calls for work at state and local levels to continue When Anita Earls moved to Charlotte in 1988, one of the first people who welcomed her to the Queen City was the chair of the Charlotte League of Women Voters. Earls credits the chapter with helping her grow as an attorney and inspiring her through its work in support of maintaining racial integration in the city's schools.
Judges not legislators: State Supreme Court’s legitimacy depends on continued respect for precedent
Maybe the change was an inevitable byproduct of our current charged and contentious era. Maybe it was naïve to ever think that things were dramatically different in the past. Whichever the case, one thing for sure in 2022 is that public perceptions of the American judiciary as a neutral dispenser of blind justice ain’t what they used to be. And indeed, those altered perceptions may reflect a new, sobering, and thoroughly politicized reality.
Preaching justice and mercy, acclaimed lawyer, writer Bryan Stevenson visits Duke
If there was one thing Bryan Stevenson could say to legislators when they’re writing laws to punish people convicted of crimes, the acclaimed writer and lawyer told a crowd at Duke University Wednesday night, he would encourage them to push past their anger and fear so they can see how much pain they are inflicting […]
‘The End of Isolation Tour’ and the push to end solitary confinement in North Carolina prisons
How three performances of a play relate to efforts to end solitary in North Carolina It’s the sound of jangling keys that reminds Craig Waleed of his time in solitary confinement. “That brings me back to being in there and hearing the keys jingle next to the cell door, thinking, ‘OK then, they’ll let me out. Today's the day I get out,’” Waleed said.
Criminal justice leaders tout the benefits of ‘restorative justice’ at NCCU forum
Durham police chief, sheriff, and D.A. agree that county's practices and experience can be a model for systemic reform Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews teared up as she sat in a close circle of people in the Great Hall of North Carolina Central University’s Law School.