Can Residents Trust Durham’s Police Chief After She Cooperated With ICE? Patrice Andrews once promised she’d never work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But in 2018, she directly ordered the arrest of immigration activists during an ICE deportation. Tina Vasquez
North Carolina’s Clemency Process is a ‘Black Box,’ Advocates Say Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor's process for granting clemency remains unclear. Katie Jane Fernelius
Americans Are Getting Tired of Willie Horton-Style Fearmongering In North Carolina, Attorney General Josh Stein’s Republican opponent painted him as soft on crime. Voters re-elected him anyway. Jay Willis
Democrats Could Flip the Ohio and Michigan Supreme Courts Shifting control of the states’ highest courts next month will prove critical on a number of major issues, including redistricting in 2021. Joshua Vaughn
A Vegan Meat Company Purged Its Pro-Labor Employees. Workers Say An Anti-Union Drive Prompted the Firings. No Evil Foods created products like El Zapatista and Comrade Cluck, but workers say its conduct doesn’t live up to its leftist branding. Paul Blest
A North Carolina Professor Gave Up His Free Speech Rights To Resolve a Case Involving a Controversial Sheriff Rann Bar-On pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson to remain a legal U.S. resident. For the next two years, he isn’t allowed to protest in the county. Aaron Morrison
Deaths By Suicide and Overdose Skyrocket in North Carolina Jails A report from an advocacy group says that deaths in the state’s jails have soared— and that 2019 could set a record for suicides. Zachary A. Siegel
North Carolina Judge Rules That Prosecuting 16-year-old As An Adult Violates His Constitutional Rights Two years ago, the state passed ‘raise the age’ legislation that goes into effect in December. A judge’s decision regarding a teen charged in 2015 raises the possibility of relief for other young people charged since the law’s passage. Roxanna Asgarian
A One-Sided Report on North Carolina Gun Violence The Charlotte Observer built a narrative on gun crime that relies almost exclusively on police and prosecutors, ignores the violence of incarceration, and offers zero non-carceral solutions. Adam H. Johnson
The Persistent History of Excluding Black Jurors in North Carolina A statewide pattern of discrimination in jury selection has gone largely uncorrected, while lives remain in the balance, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Drug Treatment Is Reaching More Prisons and Jails Recent legal victories have spurred counties and states to provide medication-assisted treatment to prisoners struggling with substance use. JB Nicholas
North Carolina Jail Staff Accused Of Beating And Abusing Mentally Ill Veteran A civil rights lawsuit claims officers pepper sprayed him, stripped him naked, and then surrounded him and beat him to death. Kira Lerner
‘Please Help Me, Sir’ In September, Marcus Smith experienced a mental health crisis and begged Greensboro, North Carolina police for help. Instead, they tied him with restraints. Moments later, his body went lifeless. William C. Anderson
North Carolina Sheriff Criticized For Unleashing K-9 Dogs On Black People Faces Re-Election Advocates say that Sheriff Donnie Harrison is unfit for a fifth term because of such abusive practices as well as his office's cooperation with ICE. George Joseph
Did Prosecutors Use a ‘Cheat Sheet’ to Strike Black Jurors in North Carolina Death Penalty Case? A single training document uncovered in a prosecutor’s files could save Russell William Tucker’s life. Jacob Biba
Jail Policies Restrict Legal Representation in North Carolina Public defenders in Charlotte say restrictions on communication hinder their ability to help jailed clients. Jessica Brand
A county in North Carolina wants to give its bail system a serious makeover A local solution to a national problem. Carimah Townes
District attorney defends prosecution of man convicted of killing father of basketball superstar Michael Jordan Larry Hannan
