The recent murder of Valerie Hamilton, the 23-year-old daughter of Concord’s Police Chief, serves as a stark reminder of North Carolina’s correctional system failures. Hamilton’s murder eerily resembles the 2008 murder of UNC Student Body President Eve Carson. The chief suspect in her death, Michael Neal Harvey, was on probation for multiple criminal infractions, including [...]
DNA Sampling Bill Signed
This morning Governor Perdue will sign the DNA sampling bill in Greenville, NC (you can follow the live tweet of the signing here). HB1403, “Collecting DNA Sample on Arrest,” requires police to take DNA samples of suspects charged with serious crimes, including murder or rape. Then, the DNA sample will be entered into a larger [...]
Why a Life Sentence does not Mean Life in Prison
People opposed to the death penalty always like to say that sentencing someone to life in prison is worse than the death penalty therefore it is a more appropriate sentence for heinous crimes. Proponents of the death penalty, such as myself, have argued that you can’t insure that someone sentenced today will not get out [...]
