Prison News | North Carolina

• Education & Rehabilitation
• Executions, Death Row, & the Death Penalty
• Gangs in Prison
• Health & Medical Treatment
• Prison Classification, Placement, and Release
• Prison Conditions & Corruption
• Prison Life & Prison Culture
• Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes
• Suicides in Prison
• Workplace & Industry News and Science & Tech

Education & Rehabilitation

• Education Opens Doors At Prison
  
  Central Carolina Community College awarded 18 associate degrees in business administration and 65 diplomas in masonry, electronic servicing technology, carpentry, welding technology and electrical/electronics technology....[more]
  Dunn Daily Record , Monday, May 14, 2007
  
  

Executions, Death Row & the Death Penalty

• A man walked into a sheriff's office and said he killed his daughter that day, police say
  
  A North Carolina man faces murder charges after he walked into a sheriff’s office and confessed to killing his teenage daughter, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook....[more]
  USA TODAY, Tuesday, August 20, 2019
  
  
• Madison County Jail inmate dies over the weekend, suicide suspected
  
  An inmate at the Madison County Jail died over the weekend in what authorities believe was a suicide, AL.com news partner WHNT reported Monday....[more]
  www.al.com, Monday, July 1, 2019
  
  
• North Carolina man pleads guilty to killing 3 Muslim students in possible hate crime
  
  DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina man charged with killing three much-admired Muslim university students pleaded guilty Wednesday, four years after the slayings....[more]
  USA Today, Wednesday, June 12, 2019
  
  
• DNA Evidence Leads Police To Capture Man Accused Of Killing Prominent TV Director In 1985
  
  After more than 30 years, police have finally arrested a man they believe violently murdered a famous TV director....[more]
  Oxygen, Friday, May 10, 2019
  
  

Gangs in Prison

• Former Hertford County, N.C., Chief Deputy Pleads Guilty for Assault on Inmate
  
  The Justice Department announced today that Timothy Lassiter, the former chief deputy of the Hertford County, N.C., Sheriff...[more]
  US Department of Justice, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
  
  
• Education Opens Doors At Prison
  
  Central Carolina Community College awarded 18 associate degrees in business administration and 65 diplomas in masonry, electronic servicing technology, carpentry, welding technology and electrical/electronics technology....[more]
  Dunn Daily Record , Monday, May 14, 2007
  
  
• Gangs on our turf? Police study signs
  
  Authorities across the Catawba Valley say they are noticing more signs of gang activity ...[more]
  the Charlotte Observer, Thursday, December 21, 2006
  
  

Health & Medical Treatment

• Mentally ill North Carolina inmate held in solitary confinement dies of thirst -- Medical Examiner’s Office said Anthony Michael Kerr died of severe dehydration in March of this year
  
  A North Carolina inmate with mental illness who had been held in solitary confinement died of thirst, according to an autopsy report released Thursday.

  Anthony Michael Kerr, 53, was found unresponsive in the back of a van on 12 March after being driven roughly three hours from Alexander Correctional Institution in Taylorsville to a mental hospital at Central Prison in Raleigh....[more]

  Guardian, Thursday, September 25, 2014
  
  
• North Carolina judge orders doctor to tell jail about inmate's medicine
  
  GRAHAM, N.C. (AP) - A judge has ordered a doctor to tell the Alamance County jail about an inmate's medication. The Times-News of Burlington reported that Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. on Monday also ordered ......[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 9, 2013
  
  

Prison Classification, Placement, & Release

• Inmate convicted in deadly prison breakout attempt moves to US prison
  
  ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The man sentenced to death in the killings of four workers during an attempted escape from a North Carolina prison has been transferred to a federal prison in Kentucky because of safety concerns....[more]
  Corrections One, Wednesday, January 1, 2020
  
  
• N Carolina transgender inmate to transfer to women’s prison
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Prison officials in North Carolina are honoring the wishes of a transgender inmate and transferring her to a women’s prison....[more]
  KTAR News, Friday, May 24, 2019
  
  
• NC appeals court: Life sentences were shortened for man convicted of 2 deaths
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court panel ruled Tuesday a convicted killer serving a life sentence was properly credited for good conduct behind bars and scheduled for early release, and that the state's prison system couldn't reverse itself in reaction to a public uproar....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, August 20, 2013
  
  
• This bipartisan move must keep going
  
  North Carolina is cutting one state budget line by millions of dollars and, for once, almost everyone is happy about it. Both chambers propose millions in cuts to the state's prison system because the inmate population has fallen ......[more]
  Winston-Salem Journal, Friday, July 12, 2013
  
  

Prison Conditions & Corruption

• Advocate: Fill empty jobs in wake of inmate death
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. — Following the death of an inmate from dehydration, advocates for people with mental illness are calling on North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to authorize emergency measures to fill large numbers of vacant staffing positions in the state prison system.

  Disability Rights North Carolina Executive Director Vicki Smith said Friday that the state prison system must fill widespread vacancies among mental health, medical and correctional workers to address deficiencies that contribute to poor treatment. Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of the March 12 death of inmate Michael Anthony Kerr, a 54-ye...[more]

  Ledger-Enquirer, Sunday, October 5, 2014
  
  
• Former Hertford County, N.C., Chief Deputy Pleads Guilty for Assault on Inmate
  
  The Justice Department announced today that Timothy Lassiter, the former chief deputy of the Hertford County, N.C., Sheriff...[more]
  US Department of Justice, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
  
  

Prison Life & Culture

• NC inmate charged with using cell phone to help orchestrate kidnapping of prosecutor's father
  
  In this undated photo provided by Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification Kelvin Melton is shown. Frank Arthur Janssen was rescued by an elite FBI team after he was kidnapped and terrorized for five days. John Strong, the FBI's agent in charge for North Carolina, said the kidnapping was related to Janssen's daughter's prosecution of Melton, who is serving a life sentence for ordering the shooting of a man in 2011. (AP Photo/Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification)...[more]
  Associated Press, Saturday, April 12, 2014
  
  
• Life after prison Transitioning from jail back to society can be a struggle
  
  In prison, inmates are guaranteed a bed, at least three meals a day, access to education and a bathroom. Being incarcerated isn’t a luxurious experience but it provides the bare necessities....[more]
  U-Wire, Wednesday, October 9, 2013
  
  

Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes

• 1 employee assaulted at North Carolina prison
  
  State officials say an employee was assaulted at the North Carolina prison where an officer was killed two years ago. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety says an inmate on Saturday assaulted the employee of Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor with a "handmade weapon."...[more]
  Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, October 6, 2019
  
  
• SBI identifies man found dead in Gaston County Jail
  
  State investigators have identified the inmate who died Sunday at Gaston County Jail, but have yet to release details on what led to his death....[more]
  Gaston Gazette, Sunday, June 30, 2019
  
  
• 37-year-old shot in Wilmington early Sunday
  
  A 37-year-old man was shot in Wilmington early Sunday, police said. The man was shot just after 5 a.m. in the 800 block of E. 13th St., according to city police. The victim was located at a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. ...[more]
  Delaware Online, Sunday, May 19, 2019
  
  
• Justice Department Observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with Events Throughout the Country
  
  RALEIGH – In observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 7-13, 2019, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina will host a National Crime Victims’ Rights Week Ceremony on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Archives and History/State Library Building, located at 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601. ...[more]
  U.S. Attorney’s Office | Eastern District of North Carolina, Sunday, January 1, 2006
  
  

Suicides in Prison

• Man, 21, 'who shot childhood friend and hid body in his trunk' commits suicide in prison on anniversary of her death
  
  A man who was charged with the murder of his childhood friend has hanged himself in his jail cell on the anniversary of her death. Enrico Mascaro, 21, was discovered dead in his cell at 11.30pm on Sunday in Dare County Jail, North Carolina....[more]
  Mail Online, Thursday, July 18, 2013
  
  

Workplace & Industry News, and Science & Tech News

• Judge backs NC prison staffers being required to use hand-held cameras
  
  RALEIGH (AP) — A federal judge agreed Thursday with an outside expert who recommends that North Carolina Central Prison staffers should use hand-held cameras to record how some prisoners are treated by guards after force is used to subdue the inmates....[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, March 27, 2014
  
  
• The Private Prison Complex—America takes notice
  
  Peace College ; Raleigh, NC - opinion By Nikolas Williams When one thinks of modern industries in the United States what companies come to mind? Wal-Mart, Apple, oil companies such as Exxon and Chevron likely make that mental list....[more]
  U-Wire, Monday, September 2, 2013
  
  
• North Carolina Public Safety secretary faces final day in office; suddenly resigning after 6 months in job
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is looking for a new head of one of the state's top crime-fighting agencies. Wednesday is the last day in the office for Kieran (KEER'-an) Shanahan, who announced last week he would be ......[more]
  Associated Press, Wednesday, July 31, 2013
  
  
• Kieran Shanahan resigns as secretary of North Carolina Department of Public Safety
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina's secretary of the department of Public Safety is resigning, after six months on the job. Gov. Pat McCrory announced Friday that Kiernan Shanahan will step down at the end of the month....[more]
  Associated Press, Friday, July 26, 2013