mass incarceration
Judge wrongly resentenced man convicted of murder as teen, possibly delaying release, lawyers say
When the North Carolina Supreme Court sent James Kelliher’s case back to the trial court, they did so with an instruction: Give him two sentences of life-with-the-possibility of parole that run at the same time. But that is not exactly what Superior Court Judge James Floyd Ammons, of Cumberland County, did. On March 31, 2023, […]
Imprisoned writer argues young adults should be eligible for parole
A new article published in the NYU Review of Law & Social Change argues that no one who was under age 25 when they committed a crime should be sentenced to life in prison without parole. It isn’t an entirely new concept. Research has suggested for years that young people’s brains are not fully developed […]
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 […]
A New Year’s resolution for North Carolina: Overhaul the state’s cruel and archaic criminal sentencing system
Gov. Roy Cooper delivered some welcome holiday presents recently to a handful of people who had served long sentences in state prison. Six were granted clemency and an early release, while four others who’d previously served long sentences received full pardons. All 10 appear to have turned their lives around and more than paid their debts to a state in which criminal penalties – particularly those that relate to drug possession and sales – are incredibly severe.
Monday numbers: A closer look at mass incarceration in NC, and the implications for redistricting
Last week, the Prison Policy Initiative published a report – "States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021" – which compared the incarceration rate of each state in the U.S. to other countries' rates. The research think tank used U.S. and United Nations crime and incarceration data (including figures from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Justice Statistics and the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program) to illustrate a stark contrast between America and other countries.
National report: NC prisons score an ‘F’ on COVID responses
[Note: This story has been updated with comments from the state Department of Public Safety in Italics.] North Carolina’s prison system lags in reducing the incarcerated population during the COVID-19 pandemic and controlling infections, according to a report released Wednesday by the Prison Policy Initiative, a criminal justice research think tank. Researchers at the nonprofit […]
ICYMI: A conversation about race, mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in North Carolina (Full video)
By all indications, North Carolina and the nation at-large have entered a critical and, perhaps, hopeful phase in their centuries-old conversations about race, crime, punishment and the undeniable links between them. If you missed it this week, Policy Watch hosted a powerful conversation via Zoom exploring where things stand, how we got to this place, […]
Join us March 10 for an online Crucial Conversation: Race, mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in NC
Join us Wednesday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m. for a very special (and virtual) Crucial Conversation: Satana Deberry and Dawn Blagrove: A conversation about race, mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in North Carolina Click here to register. By all indications, North Carolina and the nation at-large have entered a critical and, perhaps, hopeful phase […]
March 10 Crucial Conversation: Race, mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in NC
Join us Wednesday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m. for a very special (and virtual) Crucial Conversation: Satana Deberry and Dawn Blagrove: A conversation about race, mass incarceration and criminal justice reform in North Carolina
Pandemic makes clear it’s time to rethink some basic assumptions about crime and punishment
The good people at the N.C. Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty have published a new and powerful essay about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is forcing us to confront some basic societal assumptions about crime, punishment and public safety. COVID lessons: Public safety means letting go of extreme punishment COVID-19 is teaching […]
Cooper proclamation neatly sums up harsh reality facing the formerly incarcerated
Here’s something you don’t see every day: an official gubernatorial proclamation that’s worth a couple minutes of your time. Most such proclamations are milquetoast, of course: bland recitations of noncontroversial truisms that usually do little more than serve as backdrop for honoring a group or individual — a ball team or a retiring politician. Today, […]