SCSJ’s ‘Safe Return’ Report Details Successes of Early Re-entry

DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 4, 2024) — During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina safely sent thousands of people home early from prison with no negative impact to public safety, according to a new report, “Safe Return,” from Southern Coalition for Social Justice released as part of its Reframing Public Safety Series. 

The report includes an overview of the nationwide response to COVID-19 in prisons, as well as a closer at North Carolina; a case study of how Durham County methodically reviewed existing prison sentences in an effort to give certain cases a “second look;” stories of formerly incarcerated people who were allowed to return home early; and recommendations for further improvements to our state’s re-entry policies. 

SCSJ’s Reframing Public Safety series explores, interrogates, lifts up, and shares policies and practices that increase public safety, strike the right balance between accountability and repair, and center dignity, stability, and justice for all. 

Click here to read the report.

“This report lays bare that North Carolina’s efforts to bring thousands of people home early from prison during COVID was a resounding success from a public safety perspective,” said Jake Sussman, SCSJ’s Justice System Reform Chief Counsel. “The measurable outcomes and individual success stories speak for themselves. We have the evidence it works, and we have the tools to make this a regular part of our criminal legal system.” 

Recommendations in the report lay out how North Carolina can continue to safely send people home from prison, including how prosecutors should take a “second look” at long sentences and steps the legislature can take to reduce extreme sentencing and promote more equity in the legal system.  

Here’s what some of our partners said about the report: 

“As prosecutors, it is our duty to act when a past judgement no longer serves the interests of justice,” said Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry. “Especially in a place like Durham with a history of prosecutorial misconduct, it’s also critical to equity and trust in the system. These releases saved taxpayer money, prevented illness and death, corrected injustices, and gave people who demonstrated real rehabilitation a second chance.” 

“Thanks to Southern Coalition for Social Justice for its important and compelling report which shows that — as we at the Prison Policy Initiative have noted in the past — safe large-scale decarceration is more than possible,” said Emmett Sanders, Policy and Advocacy Associate at Prison Policy Initiative. “COVID-related efforts, which saw more than 13,400 prisoners across North Carolina granted early release, not only saved lives and helped reunite families; they saved decades of unnecessary and costly incarceration with no detrimental impact to public safety.” 

“It has long been evident that North Carolina incarcerates more people than is necessary to ensure public safety,” said Ben Finholt, Director of the Just Sentencing Project at the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law. “These actions by the Department of Adult Corrections and the Durham District Attorney’s Office show us a new and better path forward.” 

For media inquiries about this report to the Durham District Attorney’s Office, please contact Sarah Willetts at sarah.k.willets@nccourts.org. SCSJ can also connect reporters with impacted individuals for this story. 

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Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.