In response to the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte on August 22, North Carolina legislators are proposing various criminal justice reforms. Brittany noted last week that Republican legislators are advocating for various changes such as restarting the death penalty, ending cashless bail for those with felony convictions, and mandating that judicial officials consider homelessness and mental health when determining conditions of pretrial release.
This week, Democratic representative Laura Budd responded with a different slate of reforms, calling for funding for 5,000 additional local police officers statewide, along with 5,000 crisis assistance co-responders. She is also proposing that judicial officials initiate mental health commitments where appropriate and that people found incompetent to proceed be tried in state hospitals.
Yesterday, Chief Justice Paul Newby of the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order creating a new Pretrial Release Task Force to survey pretrial release practices statewide and make recommendations as to best practices and potential legislative changes.
Read on for more criminal justice news.
Experts weigh in on deployment of National Guard in D.C. President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., has resulted in a decline in crime, but some experts say the decline is likely to be short-lived. Critics assert that the surge in troops does little to address the underlying conditions that cause crime, and it is not sustainable to keep large numbers of troops on the streets of American cities over an extended period of time.
However, some of the same experts say that Trump’s urgings to clean up and repair rundown parts of the city and add streetlamps to public spaces and parks could be effective, citing to research showing that beautifying urban areas where violence is common can help reduce crime in a more sustainable way.
Trump has terminated grants for certain violence intervention programs such as Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program which brings police, prosecutors, and community violence preventers together to focus on specific people determined to be most likely to engage in violent crime. Some experts contend that a “focused deterrence” approach is more effective than a dragnet approach.
Mobile reentry center. A North Carolina nonprofit has retrofitted a bus to deliver reentry support throughout the state. The bus carries a team of reentry specialists who each have personal experiences with incarceration and the transition back to the community. The “Mobile Recidivism Reduction Center” is part of a larger state and national campaign to increase reentry resources. The bus is deployed to areas where the need is greatest, such as homeless shelters, and tends to stay in one location for about a week. The specialists provide assistance with a wide variety of life needs, helping individuals apply for housing, obtain medical insurance, and receive education or substance use treatment. The specialists continue to provide assistance after the bus has moved on to other locations. The nonprofit hopes to expand its reach and plans to launch a bus for each of four regions of the state.
Drug cop turned drug trafficker. The Assembly tells the improbable story of a talented drug interdiction officer who became a major drug trafficker after getting fired from the Lexington, NC, Police Department. Growing up in Lexington, Freddie Huff set his sights on becoming a police officer from an early age, encouraged by his father. He even dressed the part, donning a badge, hat, and uniform at age 13. After joining the force at age 23, he patrolled the I-85 corridor, showing an uncanny ability to spot unusual details associated with drug trafficking.
He once observed missing mud flaps on a tractor-trailer. After stopping the truck for a Chapter 20 violation, his suspicion was confirmed upon locating more than half a million dollars in cash in a hidden compartment. His seizures over a six-year period were valued over $5 million, a massive sum for a small police department.
However, he was let go after investigators determined he had been selling parts of his uniform. Because he lied about the misdeed at first, he lost his law enforcement certifications.
He then turned to drug trafficking, applying some of the knowledge he had gathered after years of drug enforcement. He eventually developed direct contacts with multiple cartels and maintained a stash house in his home town of Lexington. The story concludes with Mr. Huff receiving a 21-year sentence in federal court.
“Roofman” coming soon to a theater near you. Telling another North-Carolina-based “stranger-than-fiction” story, the film, “Roofman,” will be released next month. Protagonist Jeffrey Manchester was a real person who became famous for robbing several McDonald’s franchises by making elaborate entries through the roof. The army veteran evidently treated those he kidnapped with marked courtesy. After being convicted of crimes related to his spree of robberies, he escaped from a North Carolina prison and lived undetected in the recesses of a Charlotte Toys “R” Us for months (before being recaptured four years after his escape).
Have a great weekend and see you on Monday.