Blog
Vance County Jail to Charge Medical Co-pays
The Vance County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to begin charging detained people at the Vance County Jail a $10 co-pay for medical care. The county manager Renee Perry claims that this resolution is intended to minimize “misuse of the correctional...
Emancipate NC Uncovers Durham Jail Conditions
Last month, Emancipate NC filed a lawsuit against the Durham County Sheriff’s Office for violating the North Carolina Public Records Act by heavily redacting its jail policies in response to a public records request for the Durham County Jail’s manual. Some pages are...
Governor Cooper Issues Historic Reentry Executive Order
On January 29, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order No. 303, a historic order addressing an improved reentry program for formerly incarcerated people. Emancipate NC’s Kerwin Pittman joined the Governor’s signing of...
Report Back on HEART Listening Session
On January 23rd, the Raleigh H.E.A.R.T. Colaition hosted a listening session with the LGBTQ Center at RUMAH (Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub). The community heard from Nadia Moreta and Dale Neal from the Office of Community Engagement about the program. Community...
Phillip Smith Publishes Book of Poetry
Emancipate NC’s client Phillip Vance Smith II’s poetry book titled "LIFE: Learning Instructions For Everyone...in prison & out" was just released and now available for purchase! Phillip says he “wrote this book to tell people what it's like to serve life without...
Reminder: Register for the Emancipated CLE
Mark your calendars and secure your spot today! Register for Emancipate NC’s second annual continuing legal education conference, The Emancipated CLE 2024! The conference will take place on Friday, February 16th, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the People’s...
Victory! Justice Earls Investigation Dismissed!
Under pressure from Emancipate NC and the NC Black Alliance, the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission dismissed their complaint against Justice Anita Earls, the only Black woman on the NC Supreme Court. The investigation was brought on based on anonymous...
Durham: Pay Darryl Howard!
This is a reprint of an OpEd by Elizabeth Simpson published in the INDY Week. Who would suspect that Concord would be more progressive than Durham on the subject of compensating victims of police corruption? Yet last week, Concord made good on a $25 million judgment...
Emancipate NC Sues the Durham Sheriff Over Jail Transparency
Last week, Emancipate NC filed a Public Records Act lawsuit against the Durham County Sheriff’s Office to fight for release of the Jail policy manual. After a records request for the policy manual governing the Jail, the Sheriff’s Office provided only heavily redacted...
Darryl Williams: We Remember You!
One year ago, Darryl Tyree Williams was killed by the Raleigh Police Department with a taser weapon. About 50 people, including family, friends, and community activists, gathered last week on the anniversary of his death for a vigil to honor his life and continue to...
Phillip Smith Published in Slate
Read a recent article in Slate written by Emancipate NC client Phillip Vance Smith II about the difficulties of romantic relationships in prison when relying on prison tech. Philip writes, “For as long as there have been prisons, relationships have found a way...
Upcoming HEART Engagement
The Raleigh HEART Coalition needs your voice now more than ever! The City Manager’s Office is asking for community input on our coalition’s Alternative Crisis Response Unit proposal from now until March 2024. We need to show the City that Raleigh residents want...
Kerwin Appointed to Violence Advisory Board
Emancipate NC’s Kerwin Pittman was appointed to the first-ever Violence Advisory Board by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety as a violence prevention leader alongside 24 other leaders. The board has been created to bring together a variety of different...
Keeping Kids Safe in Greenville
School Resource Officers are supposed to keep students safe — but like most police in this country, they are actually trained to view the very people they are supposed to protect as the enemy. At North Pitt High School in Greenville, NC, a School Resource Officer...
Defending the Right to Protest
Emancipate NC represents protesters charged with offenses related to civil disobedience, as well as administering a network of justice-aligned attorneys in North Carolina who offer pro bono representation to protesters. Recently, Emancipate NC attorney...