2021 Advocacy Agenda

When someone returns to society, they should not be forced to continue paying for a criminal conviction. People deserve a clean slate, and record relief laws must be expanded to ensure everyone has the opportunity to create a thriving life for themselves and their loved ones.
Our demands on record relief laws:

• Expand expungement eligibility for people with multiple felony convictions, including removing distinctions between violent and nonviolent convictions for expunction, and allowing qualifying convictions to be expunged even when they appear alongside those that do not qualify for expungement.
• Expand automatic expungements to include any qualifying case where a judge does not have discretion to deny the petition. For Example: youthful convictions, “non-violent” misdemeanor convictions, and dismissed/not guilty charges
• Reduce the waiting periods for access to expunction relief
• Expand eligibility for expunging certain drug offenses, breaking & entering offenses, and simple assault offenses
• Increase access to and eligibility for Certificates of Relief where someone is not eligible for an expunction 
• Eliminate public access to mugshots and require regular updates of third party databases

People in need of public benefits and assistance must not be denied them because of a criminal record, especially when they have paid their debt to society and face increased barriers to re-entry.
Our demands on Public Benefits:

• Completely opt out of the federal ban on SNAP benefits for individuals convicted of relevant felony drug charges- Including the 6-month disqualification period for people convicted of the lowest level drug felonies, and the lifetime ban on people convicted of mid to high-level drug-related felonies
• Ensure eligible individuals are enrolled in SNAP and other public benefits upon or prior to their reentry

The North Carolina Court system should not be funded on the backs of those with the least ability to pay. Levying costly fees on people who don’t have the means to pay them creates and criminalizes a cycle of poverty, while entrapping a disproportionate number of Black, Brown and Poor people in the criminal legal system.
Our demands on Fair Court policies: 

• Reduce or eliminate court costs, fines, fees and penalties at all levels of the court system and include reduction or elimination of jail and probation fees.
• Create an ‘ability to pay rule’ to assess an individual’s ability to pay court costs before imposing them.

Felony Disenfranchisement is an inherently racist practice established as a tool to suppress African Americans’ right to vote. Decades of data shows the disparate impact of this practice on Black people. 
Our demands on Fair Voting Policies: 

• Immediately extend voting rights to people on probation, parole, or post-release supervision for a felony conviction 
• Ensure access to the polls for those at highest risk of disenfranchisement, including individuals who recently had voting rights restored
• End the criminalization of voting with a felony record. 

The North Carolina Drug Tax is a modern relic of the war on drugs.  It is an excise tax on illicit controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, and moonshine and is in place to raise revenue for local law enforcement and the State of North Carolina.
Our demands: 

• Remove the harsh consequences and including wage garnishment
• Improve access to Offer in Compromise to reduce amount of tax owed
• Repeal the drug tax

Access to safe, stable, affordable housing is a human right. Housing must be available for NC residents regardless of criminal background.

Access to safe, stable, affordable housing is a human right. Housing must be available for NC residents regardless of criminal background. 
Our demands on fair housing policies: 

• Expand housing discrimination protections to people with criminal records, including limiting negative consequences for loved ones of individuals with records of conviction
• Increase housing opportunities for people exiting prison and ensure availability of affordable housing generally

A criminal record should not be a barrier to employment or a lifetime sentence to poverty. People reentering society must have equitable access to employment opportunities to ensure they can adequately provide for themselves and their loved ones. 
Our demands on fair employment policies:  

• Delay or eliminate the inquiry about criminal background until after a conditional job offer, except when prohibited by law. 
• Ensure  people have access to necessary identification and documentation upon release from prison (ie. state id, social security card, birth certificate, etc.)

North Carolina has a wide network of reentry supports and service providers, but they need funding and resources to continue their work. Investing in successful reentry programs for people returning to society helps reduce recidivism, stabilize communities, and improve the quality of life for thousands of North Carolinians.

In the wake of the murders of Andrew Brown Jr., George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others whose lives were stripped away far too soon at the hands of law enforcement officers, it is imperative that communities have the ability to hold law enforcement officers accountable for their actions, and have space for community members’ voices to be heard to inform decisions on what true safety looks like for Black and Brown people.
Our demands on law enforcement and police accountability:

• Require the release of body-worn and dashboard camera recordings upon request, no more than 48 hours after the time of the recording. 
• Authorize the use of Citizen’s Review boards to investigate or review certain allegations of misconduct by Law Enforcement Officers.

In light of the overwhelming evidence of wrongful convictions nationally and in North Carolina, We must have increased transparency and accountability from the State around the pardon and clemency process and wrongful convictions, and support a Moratorium on North Carolina’s Death Penalty today.
Our demands on the pardon/clemency process and wrongful convictions :

• Implement a Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel Taskforce to make recommendations to the Executive Branch on the pardons system and on strengthening North Carolina’s protections to prevent wrongful convictions.
•  Support the full and fair funding of legal resources that contribute to preventing or rectifying wrongful convictions including Indigent Defense Services (IDS) and the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.