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North Carolina

An illustration in grayscale shows, on the left, a person's head with a speech bubble coming out of their mouth, with a pair of handcuffs in it. On the right, there is a person’s head with “VOTE” in a speech bubble coming out of their mouth.
Election 2024 November 8
‘What Now?’ People Behind Bars React to Trump’s Win
Most people in prison can’t vote. But they share concerns about inflation, misinformation, racism and the state of our democracy.
By , and
News July 18
Meet the New Generation of Unarmed First Responders in This New Podcast Series
“The Fifth Branch,” a podcast from The Marshall Project and Tradeoffs, examines new, alternative ways to respond to 911 crisis calls.
By
An illustration shows a bearded Black man, wearing a kufi cap and red prison uniform, holding up a phone to his ear. While on the phone, he writes lyrics onto a notebook.
Life Inside May 31
I Recorded a Whole Hip-Hop Album on a Death Row Telephone
In this new book excerpt, incarcerated rapper Alim “RRome Alone” Braxton describes his early attempts to record vocals over a phone in the dayroom.
By Alim Braxton and Mark Katz
An illustration shows the back of a light-skinned person with short strawberry blonde hair in a wired bra, with their hand on a mirror. In the reflection, they are wearing an orange sports bra. Green bathroom stalls are in the background.
Life Inside March 15
Boxer Shorts Blues: My Path to Gender-Affirming Underwear in Prison
Nonbinary writer K.C. Johnson soon learned that behind bars, even their underwear was subject to deliberations.
By K.C. Johnson
A gray building with a sign that reads: "Durham County Courthouse."
Closing Argument September 16, 2023
This Homicide Victim’s Family Chose Reconciliation Over a Life Sentence
How a violent killing in North Carolina was resolved with a pioneering use of “restorative justice.”
By
Signs and red paper hearts are taped to a green school door. The signs read as messages of support, such as: "We love you Richneck," "You are in our hearts," "We stand by you," and "Get better fast Ms. Z."
Closing Argument January 14, 2023
Virginia School Shooting Tests How Young Is Too Young to be Prosecuted
Nearly half of U.S. states have no minimum age for prosecution, unlike most nations.
By
Prisoners from the Ferguson Unit picking cotton outside of Huntsville, Texas, in 1968. The unit was named after James E. Ferguson, a governor in the 1910s with a troubled record of condoning anti-Mexican violence.
News July 29, 2020
Will The Reckoning Over Racist Names Include These Prisons?
Many prisons, especially in the South, are named after racist officials and former plantations.
By
Stephanie Parris was one of 250 people released early from Virginia prisons because of COVID-19 concerns. These early releases accounted for less than half of the state’s prison population decline in recent months.
Coronavirus July 16, 2020
Prison Populations Drop by 100,000 During Pandemic
But not because of COVID-19 releases.
By , , Denise Lavoie AND Claudia Lauer
Feature July 10, 2020
Freed From Prison, Dead from COVID-19, Not Even Counted
Officials’ missteps at Butner made it the deadliest federal lockup.
By and Dan Kane
The N.C. Supreme Court ordered relief for death row inmates if racial bias infected their case. One of the cases decided Friday was Rayford Burke, whom the prosecutor called “a big black bull” during closing arguments to an all-white jury.
News June 11, 2020
New Hope for People Who Claim Racism Tainted Their Death Sentence
The North Carolina state Supreme Court has upheld the controversial Racial Justice Act, which opponents repealed in 2013
By and
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