by Mandie Sellars | Apr 10, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
Bail reform advocates around the country now have a new tool to challenge the cash bail system. In North Carolina, the inequality created by cash bail has prompted advocates to push for pretrial release based on evidence of dangerousness and flight risk rather than...
by Mandie Sellars | Mar 7, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
In theory, debtor’s prisons in the United States have been abolished long ago. In practice, however, the criminalization of poverty is a common problem. North Carolina is no exception. Not only are people often jailed for the inability to pay court fines and fees,...
by Mandie Sellars | Feb 28, 2018 | Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
The U.S Imprisonment rate has dropped 11% since peaking in 2008, according to the Pew Charitable Trust Public Safety Performance Project. This marks the lowest rate since 1997. The decrease has coincided with long-term reductions in crime. Since 2008, combined...
by Mandie Sellars | Feb 28, 2018 | Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
The State Reentry Council Collaborative was created by the General Assembly to study the needs of individuals with criminal records as they return from correctional institutions. The goal of the council is to improve the effectiveness of local reentry...
by Mandie Sellars | Oct 12, 2017 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
by Molly Riesenberger The ACLU report, “In for a Penny: The Rise of America’s New Debtors’ Prisons,” presents the findings of a yearlong investigation into “debtors’ prisons,” exposing how poor defendants are increasingly being jailed for failure to pay legal debts...
by Mandie Sellars | Sep 20, 2017 | Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
It has been about one year since film director Ava DuVernay released the documentary “13th.” This documentary is widely available on Netflix. Today, as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to unfold and national politics have veered towards a...