North Carolina
Contact Information
Primary Contact Name: Peggy D. Nicholson
Position: Director
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://www.southerncoalition.org/youth-justice-project/
Twitter: @scsj
Legislation
Bill Number: SB 413
Type of Reform
Jail Removal Reform - Except that children charged with Class A-E felonies can be detained in a holdover facility for up to 72 hours.
Year: 2019
Bill Number: SB 257
Type of Reform
Raise the Age Reform - Raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 18 years old, except for certain felonies.
Year: 2017
Bill Number: SB 635
Type of Reform
Sentencing Reform - Eliminated juvenile life without parole for all youth convicted of second-degree murder, and required a person convicted of first-degree murder, and under the age of 18 at the time of the crime, to serve twenty-five years in prison before becoming parole eligible.
Year: 2012
Reports
From Push Out to Lock Up: North Carolina’s Accelerated School-to-Prison Pipeline (2013)
This report presents a statewide overview of the various segments in North Carolina’s school-to-prison pipeline that move vulnerable students into the court system: underfunded schools, harsh discipline, increased policing of school hallways and a lack of adequate intervention programs or alternative education placements. The final section of the report proposes four recommendations to begin dismantling the school-to-pipeline: 1. Raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 16 to 18 for youth who commit misdemeanor offenses; 2. Implement evidence-based reforms to ensure equitable treatment for all students in North Carolina; 3. Improve data collection and reporting requirements to better inform school administrators, parents, and policymakers; and 4. Establish a legislative task force on school discipline policies.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Raising the Age of Juvenile Jurisdiction in North Carolina (2011)
This report presents the results of the cost-benefit analysis of a plan to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction in North Carolina to 18. The report concludes that the benefits of the plan outweigh the costs and that, from a cost-benefit standpoint, the policy change merits consideration.