Habitual Felon Law

What is Habitual Felon Law? In essence, it is Mecklenburg County’s version of a “three-strikes” law. If someone is convicted of three separate felony offenses, a district attorney can choose to indict them as a “habitual felon.” This means that the person being charged will face significantly more time in jail. ...

Reducing the Jail Population

Welcome to our fifth week of Policy Wednesday! This week’s topic of discussion will be reducing the jail population at the Mecklenburg County jail. It is important to keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of people in Mecklenburg County jail are people who have been accused, but not convicted, of ...

The Trial Penalty

Welcome back to Policy Wednesday! This week we will be discussing the Trial Penalty.  This penalty is the difference between the sentence length offered in a plea bargain versus a trial.  For example, a defendant charged with murder might face 30 years in prison if they are convicted at trial. However, prosecutors may ...

Purposeful Probation

Welcome back to Policy Wednesday! For our 2^nd week, we will be discussing a very important topic in the realm of criminal justice policy: probation.  Probation is the primary alternative to incarceration that our justice system employs.  However, probation sentences are often far too long and harsh, and in fact, probation can often keep people ...

The Death Penalty

Welcome to Policy Wednesday! For the next 13 weeks leading up to the March 8^th primary, I will be announcing where I stand on various policy issues every Wednesday. For our first week, we will be focusing on the death penalty. While North Carolina has not executed anyone since 2006, the death penalty ...