Blog
“Y’all Gave Me a Glimmer of Hope”
Associate Director Elizabeth Simpson represented Emancipate NC client Sandy Dowell Marriner in her bid to marry her long-term partner, Amanda Marriner, in 2019, and in her attempts to secure release from a life sentence during the COVID-19...
Opposing the Anti-Protest Bill
Kerwin Pittman gave powerful testimony at the General Assembly on H.B. 805, the anti-political protest bill that would create felony penalties for activities deemed to be “riots” and any “assault” on emergency personnel, even without the causation of a physical...
O.P.P.: Oust Pretend Progressives
Emancipate NC will participate in the Taking Power Summit with Community Change and the Black Freedom Collective to celebrate the resilience of Black people on August 24 and 25. Check out the promo video, featuring Executive Director Dawn...
Emancipate NC Wins New Policy From Magistrates
Victory to the People! The Wake County Chief Magistrate signed a new policy to guarantee the right to counsel at the bail-setting stage. Fayetteville PACT president Kathy Greggs was denied her right to counsel at the Wake County jail on June 29, 2021. She had been...
Amicus Support for the NC NAACP and NC Association of Black Lawyers
Last week, Emancipate NC filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the Supreme Court of North Carolina on behalf of the N.C. Association of Black Lawyers and the N.C. State Conference of the NAACP. The brief supports Russell Tucker, a Black man sentenced...
Emancipate NC Fights for Body Cams
On July 14, 2021, Dawn Blagrove and Kerwin Pittman went to the North Carolina General Assembly to visit lawmakers and talk about SB 300, the criminal justice reform bill. This week, police asked for a change to the body camera portion of the bill to make it harder for...
Helping Formerly Incarcerated People Become Paralegals
Image depicts Kerwin Pittman underneath a big red hat. Through his nonprofit organization that he founded when he came home from prison, Reducing Recidivism Educational Program Services (RREPS), Emancipate NC organizer Kerwin Pittman has started a program to help...
A Transformational Year: 2020-2021
The last 12 months have been a year of transformation for Emancipate NC and for the state, nation, and world as we all grappled with the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and endemic racism in the U.S. policing and legal system. This month, we pause to remember all those we...
Magistrates Must Provide Access to Counsel
Photo depicts Dawn Blagrove and Kathy Greggs embracing outside of the Wake County Detention Center after Kathy was released from custody on June 29, 2021. Emancipate NC Calls Upon Wake County Magistrates To Comply With the Law By Providing Access to Counsel at...
Refund Raleigh!
Photo Depicts Summer Intern Jasmin Benas and Executive Director Dawn Blagrove at the Refund Raleigh event. Report on Refund Raleigh event by Intern Jasmin Benas The 2021-2022 FY Raleigh Budget includes a $5 million dollar increase to the Raleigh Police Budget,...
Stop Arresting Us
Photo depicts Kristie Puckett-Williams and Kerwin Pittman in handcuffs, but undaunted, in Elizabeth City, NC, after being arrested in the course of protests. Police arrested Emancipate NC Organizer Kerwin Pittman and Emancipate NC Board Member Kristie...
Free Lester Kearney
Photo depicts Emancipate NC Advocate Cierra Cobb speaking to WRAL after Mr. Kearney's bond hearing in Warrenton, NC on May 20, 2021. A criminal justice system void of justice is just criminal. Mr. Lester Kearney, Sr. is a victim of a criminal system, so deeply...
Has Mr. Kearney Been Tried In The Media?
Bond Motion Reveals That Defendant in Lake Gaston Home Invasion May Be Innocent; Has Been Unfairly Tried In the Media Warrenton, NC, May 20, 2021--Countless sensational news stories have already convicted Lester Kearney of the capital murder of Dr. Nancy Alford in the...
Emancipate NC Supports Elizabeth City
On April 21, Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. Since that date, Emancipate NC staff members, Board, and Justice League Fellows have been on the ground--protesting, bailing out arrested people, coordinating with NLG Legal Observers,...
Emancipate NC Sues Cops On Behalf of Ms. Bottom
In May 2019, a 68-year-old Black woman named Stephanie Bottom was pulled over by officers from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and the Salisbury Police Department. The officers were attempting to conduct a traffic stop, as Bottom was allegedly driving 80 mph in a...