Satana Deberry won the primary on May 8 to become the next District Attorney for Durham County, unseating incumbent District Attorney Roger Echols. She will begin her term in January.
Deberry, who has done criminal justice advocacy and policy work for 18 years, ran as a reform candidate, recognizing issues such money bail, police accountability, and racially discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system.
The Color of Change political action committee, which is part of a large racial justice organization, helped raise awareness about the District Attorney campaign, a race that does not always get attention.
Deberry’s goal is to create accountability for the office of District Attorney itself, from both inside the office and from the community. For example, she plans on doing research on what prosecutions are occurring and why. Additionally, by ending the money bail system for low level felonies, she hopes to keep less people in jail. Read more here.