Criminal justice reform Coverage

Advocates fear reversal on racial justice reforms at North Carolina Supreme Court

Until recently, North Carolina judges ignored a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed for convictions to be overturned for racial bias in jury selection. Opponents of capital punishment worry the GOP-controlled state Supreme Court is backtracking.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Free clinic will help clear your criminal record

The Cumberland County District Attorney's Office is offering a program to help people with minor criminal infractions clear their records.

Authorities question how SC man was able to post bond with lengthy criminal record

Emmanuel Godbolt, 36, is facing charges after authorities said he stole a sheriff's vehicle and sped across state lines. Godbolt has been charged nearly 75 times in the course of his life, and every time has been bonded out, according to public records.

Solicitors question why man accused of stealing SC deputy's vehicle, speeding across state lines keeps bonding out of jail

A South Carolina man who authorities say stole a sheriff's deputy cruiser and led deputies on a chase across the North Carolina-South Carolina border has a lengthy criminal record.

Ale Espinosa, WMBF News

Gov. grants clemency for Fayetteville teen charged with murder

Anthony Willis, from Fayetteville, was only 16 when investigators accused him of killing shopkeeper Benjamin Miller in 1996. Since his sentence in the 90s, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that life in prison for a teenager is considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Fayetteville man granted clemency after charged with murder when he was a teen

Anthony Willis, from Fayetteville, was only 16 when investigators accused him of killing shopkeeper Benjamin Miller in 1996. Since his sentence in the 90s, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that life in prison for a teenager is considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Gilbert Baez, WRAL Fayetteville reporter

Alamance County farm's rural justice program named among country's most innovative

Benevolence Farm in Graham was selected as one of nine U.S. Innovation Sites by the Rural Justice Collaborative Advisory Council.

Fact check: Are 1 in 13 Black Americans deprived of voting rights?

Gary Chambers, a Louisiana Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, sets fire to a Confederate flag in a campaign video as he cites statistics about racial injustice, saying: "1 in 13 Black Americans are deprived of the right to vote." PolitiFact checks his claim.

Amy Sherman, PolitiFact reporter

Passionate discussion on criminal justice reform unfolds in Wake County

A passionate discussion unfolded on criminal justice reform in Wake County on Thursday night.

Lena Tillett, WRAL anchor/reporter

Emancipate NC holds discussion on criminal justice reform

A passionate discussion unfolded on criminal justice reform in Wake County on Thursday night.

Governor signs anti-shackling bill, help for incarcerated pregnant women, into law

Th bill also requires good nutrition for pregnant women who are locked up and new protections for all women in custody.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Policing reform advocates say new laws just a step, more needs to be done

Gov. Roy Cooper signed a slate of policing reforms into law Thursday, creating a new duty for officers to intervene if they see another officer using excessive force.

Governor signs police reforms into law

Broad reforms, backed by law enforcement, don't go as far as advocates wanted, but the changes are significant.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Cooper vetoes pistol permit repeal, bill to help hotel owners

Governor signs into law bill that will keep 6- and 7-year-olds out of juvenile court in North Carolina.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

NC legislature approves raft of criminal justice reforms

Multiple police reforms and an increase in the age threshold for juvenile prosecution are on the way to the governor.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Bill moving to help hundreds of thousands get their driver's licenses back. But there's a catch

Making it easier for people whose unpaid traffic fines snowballed into long-term suspensions could have a big impact.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

NC House advances police reform, bodycam video access bill

A significant criminal justice reform bill nears completion.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

NC House votes to keep 6-, 7-year-olds out of court system

Despite widespread backing for the bill, Republican members turn back calls to go further.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Body camera reforms dropped from NC policing legislation

After a language shift late Tuesday, House members jettison body camera reforms entirely. The next steps remain unclear.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Black law enforcement officers call for change: Police must be guardians, not warriors

The National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice is proposing 16 reforms in total, many of which have been touted by other law enforcement reform advocates and activists.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL investigative data journalist and Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter

Private documents warn public about trustworthiness of police officers

Locked away in prosecutors' offices across North Carolina sit documents declaring certain law enforcement officers too untrustworthy to testify in court.

DAs warn police about untrustworthy officers, but won't share with public

Prosecutors are required to tell defendants about officers they don't trust enough to testify, but no one knows how often that happens in North Carolina.

NC Watchdog Reporting Network

On the Record May 22, 2021: A year of action since the death of George Floyd

On the Record explores what has and has not changed in the year since George Floyd's death in police custody and previews the WRAL Documentary 'The Skin We're In.'

Report: Greensboro police hog-tied 275 people over four years before practice was stopped

As The Assembly details extensively in their investigation, despite hog-tying being the cause of death for at least two North Carolina men in recent years, the practice is completely legal and isn't addressed in any sort of police reform bills.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL Investigative Data Journalist

Lawmakers discuss bodycam video bill

State lawmakers discuss criminal reform legislation that includes changes to North Carolina's law regarding the release of video from law enforcement body-worn and dashboard cameras.