Blog
Raise the Age Press Conference
On May 1, a press conference was hosted by Chief Justice Mark Martin to discuss efforts to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction in North Carolina. Those in attendance included a sampling of judges, attorneys, community and advocacy organizations, DPS officials, and faith leaders. The press conference follows the recent development of North Carolina becoming […]
Death Penalty Champion, Darryl Hunt, Honored with Scholarship by Z. Smith Reynolds
“Darryl Hunt’s spirit spoke innocence,” said Dr. John Mendez of Emmanuel Baptist Church. This was a beautiful and succinct description of Mr. Hunt, who dedicated his life to eradicating the death penalty. He spent 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Once exonerated, he dedicated the remainder of his life to […]
Florida Prosecutor Announces She Will No Longer Seek Death Sentences
Prosecutors have the power to essentially stop the use of the death penalty. How? By pledging not to charge any defendants capitally. It really is that simple. Prosecutors have total control over whether a case is tried as a death penalty case or a case with the maximum punishment of life without the possibility of […]
Wake County Commissioners the Latest Group to Stand in Support of Raising the Age
The Wake County Board of Commissioners is the latest group to join the growing list of supporters for raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction in North Carolina. According to Indy Weekly, the commissioners stressed that teenagers should be allowed to make mistakes that do not follow them the rest of their lives. A bipartisan bill […]
Possible Changes to Recovery and Treatment Courts
Judge Marion Warren, Director of N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to present a plan that proposes to unify NC treatment courts and put them in every judicial district in the State. The plan, entitled Judicially Managed Accountability and Recovery Act (JMARA), proposes to coordinate court, community, and college […]
Brunswick County Get New Nonprofit to Support Reentry
Return with Honor is a new nonprofit in Brunswick County dedicated to creating employment opportunities and training for people who have served in the military and are ex-offenders. Specifically, Return with Honor will hire people who have served in the military to train and mange people who are on house arrest, work release, probation, parole […]
Ban the Box Bill Introduced in North Carolina General Assembly
House Bill 233, entitled Ban the Box, can make getting a job a little bit easier for those people with prior convictions. Primary sponsors are Democratic Whips, Rep. Garland Pierce and Rodney Moore, along with Rep. Cecil Brockman and Rep. Charles Graham. The bill’s primary purpose is to reduce barriers to employment for people with […]
5th Annual 2017 Law Enforcement Summit on Heroin and Fentanyl
The fifth annual Law Enforcement Summit on Heroin and Fentanyl, hosted by NC Harm Reduction, was last week, as reported by News and Observer. Advocates and members of law enforcement from across North Carolina participated in the summit, which was held at N.C. Museum of History
Gov. Cooper's Budget: A Step in a Positive Direction
Gov. Roy Cooper has rolled out his budget and there is much to like in our new Governor’s approach. With the Executive and Legislative branches of government once again split along party lines, don’t expect the legislature to simply move forward with the Governor’s budget. Still, many of the proposals in the budget were developed […]
Wake County Jury Again Decides Against Increasing the NC Death Row Population
March has been a good month for advocates against the death penalty in North Carolina. In the seventh straight trial, a Wake County jury has considered all the evidence and returned a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. By rejecting the death penalty, juries in Wake County are reflecting the trends across the […]
Raise the Age Bill Introduced with Strong Bi-Partisan Support
The Carolina Justice Policy Center, as one of the members of the Raise the Age Coalition, has worked for over a decade to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction in North Carolina. Wednesday, March 8, 2017, we moved a giant step closer. With 68 bi-partisan primary and co-sponsors, House Bill 280, entitled the Juvenile Justice […]
Peer Specialist Support Training Opportunity
Promise Resource Network is offering an intense, 40-hour training, for Peer Support Specialist Certification from March 6 through March, 10. The professional development course includes coursework, homework, class exercises and sharing recovery stories. Peer Support Specialists are people who provide support as mentors to others in recovery by using their own recovery story as motivation […]
US Supreme Court Cites Racial Prejudice to Order New Sentencing Hearing in Death Penalty Case
In a 6-2 ruling, the United State Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Duane Buck. Justice Thomas and Justice Alito dissented. According to the New York Times, the Court indicated the case as was riddled with “particularly noxious strains of racial prejudice.” Specifically, a psychologist testified that Black defendants were more dangerous than white […]
Attorney General Sessions Issues Memo Reversing Ban on Private Prisons
Weeks into his new role, Attorney General Sessions has started rolling back important positive steps in the criminal justice system put into place during the Obama Administration. In this case, Attorney General Sessions issued a memo rescinding the 6 month old Obama directive to end the use of privately run prisons. According to the New […]
"Citizens Protection Act of 2017" – Limits Pretrial Release for Undocumented Immigrants
The House bill entitled “Citizens Protection Act of 2017” seems to be designed to do anything but protect some of the most vulnerable among us. The bill threatens to withhold funds from sanctuary cities who do not enforce federal immigration laws and makes it difficult for undocumented immigrants to post pretrial bail. The bill would […]