Pretrial Reform in Haywood County
ncIMPACT explores pretrial reform in Haywood and Jackson counties. Anita Brown-Graham hosts. Generous support for this series is provided by UNC-School of Government and Civic Federal Credit Union.
Digital Extra 1:Unfairness of Pretrial System
Susanna Birdsong, from ACLU of North Carolina, discusses how unfair the pretrial system can be. Anita Brown-Graham hosts.
Digital Extra 2:Pretrial Release Pilot Program
Haywood and Jackson counties are participating in the state’s first-ever pretrial release pilot program. As part of the program, law enforcement agencies are encouraging their officers to give citations instead of making arrests and defense attorneys are playing a big role in preventing coerced pleas and wrongful convictions.
Digital Extra 3:Jail Overcrowding
Tarrah Callahan, from Conservatives for Criminal Justice Reform, discusses jail overcrowding in the Triad area. Anita Brown-Graham hosts.
Digital Extra 4:Assisting Inmates Transitioning Back into Society
County jails are full of people awaiting trial. This had led to jail overcrowding and it’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has been able to prevent jail overcrowding by reducing recidivism. Their partnership with a local nonprofit allows peer support specialists to assist inmates to make a smooth transition back into society after their release.
Additional Resources
The sixth episode of our new series on UNC-TV assesses alternatives to the practice of jailing defendants before trial simply because they cannot afford to pay bail, featuring efforts in the North Carolina counties of Haywood and Jackson. See below for additional resources on this topic.
- Dobbie, Will, Goldin, Jacob, and Yang, Crystal. “The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges.” Princeton University. July 2016. https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/wdobbie/files/dgy_bail_0.pdf
- Gillooly, Sarah. “North Carolina Can End Mass Incarceration.” The Herald Sun. October 2018. https://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/article219863255.html
- Gramlich, John. “America’s Incarceration Rate Is at a Two-Decade Low.” Pew Research Center. May 2018. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/02/americas-incarceration-rate-is-at-a-two-decade-low/
- “Key Initiatives.” MeckNC.Gov. Accessed March 2019. https://www.mecknc.gov/CriminalJusticeServices/Pages/Initiatives.aspx
- Leslie, Laura. “State Weighs Changes to Bail System to Reduce Burden on the Poor.” WRAL. November 2018. https://www.wral.com/state-weighs-changes-to-bail-system-to-reduce-burden-on-the-poor/18007860/
- Lowenkamp, Christopher, Van Nostrand, Marie, and Holsinger, Alexander. “The Hidden Costs of Pretrial Detention.” Arnold Foundation. November 2013. https://www.arnoldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/LJAF_Report_hidden-costs_FNL.pdf
- “New Pretrial Release Program in Haywood and Jackson Counties.” North Carolina Record Expungements. October 2018. https://www.ncrecordexpungements.com/new-pretrial-release-program-in-haywood-and-jackson-counties/
- Schlesinger, Traci. “Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Pretrial Criminal Processing.” Justice Quarterly. February 2007. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07418820500088929?scroll=top&needAccess=true
- Scott-Hayward, Christine. “Bail Reform in California.” University of Minnesota. September 2018. https://robinainstitute.umn.edu/news-views/bail-reform-california
- Smith, Jessica. “Bail Reform in North Carolina – Pilot Project: First Appearances for All Defendants.” UNC School of Government. March 2019. https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/bail-reform-in-north-carolina-pilot-project-first-appearances-for-all-defendants/
- Smith, Jessica. “Pretrial Justice Reform for North Carolina.” YouTube. October 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTMukI1OZpY&t=28s
- Stone, Jessi. “Pretrial Release Program Comes to Western NC.” September 2018. Smoky Mountain News. https://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/25610-pretrial-release-program-comes-to-western-nc
- Subramanian, Ram, Delaney, Ruth, Roberts, Stephens, Fishman, Nancy, and McGarry, Peggy. “Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America.” Vera Institute of Justice. February 2015. https://law.yale.edu/system/files/area/center/liman/document/workshop16_readings_class08.pdf
- Wagner, Peter, and Walsh, Alison. “States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2016.” Prison Policy Initiative. June 2016. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2016.html
- “What We Do.” North Carolina Community Bail Fund. Accessed December 2018. https://www.nccbailfund.org/what-we-do
