The Newsletter of North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc.

NCPLS

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

ACCESS

Publications Class Action Lawsuit Certified/DOC
Publication
Policy Revised
By: NCPLS Staff Attorney Dawn Ducoste
On October 26, 2007, NCPLS
filed a federal class action lawsuit against
the North Carolina Department of Correction for unreasonably denying North
Carolina Prisoners access to incoming
publications in
violation of their
First Amendment
right to receive publications through
the mail and their
Fourteenth Amendment right to due
process. The lawsuit seeks injunctive
and declaratory relief. This lawsuit was
consolidated with another North Carolina
prisoner publications case, Urbaniak v.
Beck, et al., (5:06-CT-3135-FL)(EDNC
2007), and certified as a class action by the
District Court on May 30, 2008 as Urbaniak v. Stanley, No. 5:06-CT-3135-FL. All
North Carolina prisoners are automatically
members of the lawsuit class.
Throughout the state inmates
have been denied, without explanation,
hundreds of magazines and books which
do not appear to violate DOC regulations.
Problems also include inconsistent publication rejections, inmates being denied the
opportunity to appeal, lengthy delays of
the Publication Review Committee (PRC),
magazines not being rejected on an issueby-issue basis, and magazines not being
forwarded as requested. Over the past
several months, NCPLS and DOC officials
have been in the process of negotiating
new DOC publication policies to address
these problems. On May 12, 2008,
Director of Prisons, Mr. Boyd Bennett,
approved several revisions to the Inmate
Publication Policy Chapter D, Section
.0100. A summary of the major changes
in the policy is described below.

Although NCPLS is pleased
with the new policy, at this point, we plan
to continue the litigation. Given the large
number of prison units, there will inevi-

tably be some units that are faster about
getting into compliance than others. It
is important to us that we monitor the
implementation of these changes over
time and receive input from our clients
regarding the effectiveness of the new
procedures. NCPLS will continue this
litigation until such time that we believe
our clients are receiving all publications
and procedures to which they are entitled
under the Constitution.

2.

book can be appealed to the Publication Review Committee for a
fresh review.
All inmates will be given a
copy of their Disapproval and
Appeal/Waiver Forms.
Under the old policy,
inmates were not given
a copy of their appeal
form and often had no
way to prove that they
had appealed a publication rejection.
3.
A new prohibition on written
depictions of sexually explicit
publications is limited to
written depictions of sex acts
involving children, animals, or
violence. Although not official policy, in the past, sexually
explicit prose has been routinely
rejected. Under the new policy,
prohibited sexually explicit
material is defined as “pictorial

(Continued on Page 4)
Summary of Major Changes in the
Revised DOC Publication Policy
D.0100 that went into effect 5/12/08
1.

The Master List of Disapproved Publications will
only include publication that
were disapproved during the
previous twelve (12) months.
Under the old policy, once a
book was on the List of Disapproved Publications, it was on
the list forever. Under the new
policy, after twelve months, a
disapproved book is automatically removed from the list. If
the book is again ordered and
rejected at the unit level, the

In this Issue:
Publication Class Action Lawsuit
Certified/DOC Publication Policy
Revisited

1

NCPLS Supports the “4All” Effort
of the North Carolina Bar
Association

2

NCPLS Continues Work on Lost
Jail Credit

2

NCPLS Staff in Action

4

Prison Rumors and the 2007-2008
Legislative Session

5

PRESIDEN BUSH SIGNS THE SECOND
CHANCE ACT OF 2007 INTO LAW

6

NCPLS ACCESS

Page 2
ACCESS is a publication of North
Carolina Prisoner Legal Services,
Inc. Established in 1978, NCPLS is a
non-profit, public service organization.
NCPLS serves a population of more
than 38,600 prisoners and 14,000 pretrial
detainees (with about 250,000 annual
admissions), providing information,
advice, and representation in all State and
federal courts to ensure humane conditions of confinement and to challenge
illegal convictions and sentences.
Executive Director
J. Phillip Griffin
Editor

Ken Butler
Publisher
Mike Pearson
Please Note: ACCESS is published
four (4) times a year.
Articles, ideas
and suggestions are welcome.
Contact: ncpls@ncpls.org

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2007

NCPLS SUPPORTS THE “4ALL” EFFORT OF
THE NORTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION

As reported in the March 2008 issue of
NCPLS Access, North Carolina Bar Association President Janet Ward Black initiated the “4All Campaign” as the theme
of her presidency. This takes its name
from the portion
of the Pledge of
Allegiance that
declares that we
are “one nation
… with liberty
and justice for
JUSTICE
all.” The purpose
of this campaign
was to help fulfill that promise by helping
to provide equal access to justice to all
persons, without regard to their status or
financial standing.

in conjunction with the NCBA Professionalism Committee and with the support
of other non-profit groups, sponsored a
walk-in legal information clinic targeted to
the legal needs of ex-offenders and groups
who assisted exoffenders with reentry issues. This
clinic was held on
Saturday April 5,
2008 from 10:00
a.m. through 2:00
FOR ALL
p.m. A number of
attorneys and paralegals participated in this clinic, including
members of both the NCPLS staff and the
NCBA Professionalism Committee. Judge
Linda Stephens, of the North Carolina
Court of Appeals and member of the ProOne feature of the 4All Campaign was
fessionalism Committee, was present to
a state-wide public service day held on
lend her support by greeting incoming cliFriday April 4, 2008. This day, designated ents. In addition, there were law student
“4/ 4/ 4All” allowed people across the
volunteers from the law schools at UNC,
state to call into service centers where
N.C. Central and Campbell University.
volunteer lawyers would provide general
legal information about a range of topics.
Because of the outstanding support for this
This project was an outstanding success.
project, NCPLS is planning to hold similar
Over 700 attorneys volunteered to assist
clinics on at least a quarterly basis, about
with this project and, more than 7000 calls every three months. The next clinic is
were answered by the conclusion of the 12 currently scheduled for Saturday July
hour work day.
12, 2008, from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon.
The project coordinators, NCPLS Staff
In addition to 4/4/4All, President Black
Attorneys Ken Butler and April Giancola,
had asked NCBA Sections and Commitalso hope to eventually work with groups
tees to consider independent projects to
in other cities to set up similar clinics.
further support the 4All effort. NCPLS,

'~~r' pi
I..

1- 1·-

NCPLS Continues Work on
Lost Jail Credit

As we reported in the June 2007 edition of NCPLS Access, NCPLS receives
thousands of requests from inmates each
year to obtain sentence reduction credits
from time spent in jail on a charge for
which they were ultimately convicted (jail
credit). Our Jail Credit Team consists of
four full-time paralegals, working under
the supervision of a senior staff attorney,
whose sole job is to investigate claims by
inmates that they are entitled to additional
jail credit.
The work of our Jail Credit Team has
always been an extremely successful area

of our practice. Not only is it a benefit to
our clients, by preventing them from serving more time that they should on a given
sentence, but it also benefits the taxpayers
of North Carolina by saving the State the
costs of excessive and erroneous incarceration. During the past six months, the
Jail Credit Team found 12,189 days of jail
credit that was due inmates in the Department of Correction. This credit, which
amounts to over 33 years of freedom for
our clients, also resulted in a saving to the
State of $871,757.28 (given an average
daily cost of incarceration of $71.52).

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

NCPLS ACCESS

Page 3

FREE LEGAL
INFORMATION
CLINIC

Sponsored by North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc.,

I....

I"

I •

... ~ ~ .....

f-

.,

SATURDAY JULY 12, 2008
10:00 AM –12:00 PM
North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services
1110 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC
919-856-2200
(Route 1 and 3 CAT Bus Lines)

Free legal consultations about civil legal matters governed by N.C. law will be offered at
this clinic for people who have been formerly incarcerated or, for organizations that serve
the formerly incarcerated community. Volunteers will be available to provide general
information about legal issues or refer you to an agency or organization that can provide
the information you need. The volunteers cannot offer to represent you but, if you are
eligible, you may be referred to one of the legal or social service agencies in the Raleigh
area to seek additional assistance and/or representation.
Please bring all of the documents concerning your legal problem to the Clinic
For additional information and assistance, please visit www.lawhelp.org/nc.

NCPLS ACCESS

Page 4

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

PUBLICATIONS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT VERTIFIED/DOC
PUBLICATION POLICY REVISED
(Continued From Page 1)
depictions of sex acts involving
any person of any age, or written
depictions of sex acts involving
violence, sadomasochism, sex
with animals, or sex with any
person who is under age 18.”
4. Inmates will be notified within
seven (7) working days of the
arrival of a publication at the
facility if the publication is
disapproved. Under the old
policy, inmates were to be notified within 10 days.
5. Once a publication is appealed
to the PRC, inmates can expect
to receive a decision from the
PRC within forty-five (45) days.
Under the old policy, no outer
time limit was provided.
6. There is a new disapproval
notification form that requires
officials to state the specific
page number(s) of the objec-

(CONTINUED)

tionable material as well as
the applicable policy section
in D.0109 that is violated. In
the past, inmates were often
given no specific reason for their
publication’s rejection other than
it “violates policy at D.0109.”
7. The Publication Review Committee must complete its review
of disapproved publications
within 7 days of receiving the
publication. Under old policy,
no time limit was given.
8. Facility Superintendents must
notify inmates of the Publication Review Committee’s
decision within 7 days of receiving that decision. Under old
policy, they had 10 days to notify
inmates.
9. The posted Master List of
Disapproved Publications will
be updated no less than every
thirty (30) days.
10. Inmates now have the ability

11.

12.

13.

14.

NCPLS STAFF IN ACTION

Staff Attorney Michael Avery recently
settled a claim of excessive force against
an inmate for $3,500.00. This involved an
inmate who was kicked by a correctional
officer, aggravating a previously existing
injury. This matter was settled by negotiation with the DOC, and did not require
filing a lawsuit.

Staff Attorney Beth McNeill was
appointed by the U.S. District Court to
represent a state inmate who had filed a
pro se petition for habeas corpus. The
issue was whether the defendant had
received ineffective assistance of counsel
for not entering a written notice of appeal
on his behalf following entry of a guilty
plea. The trial court did give oral notice
in court, but the state Superior Court judge
refused to enter the appellate entries. In
a motion for summary judgment, Ms.
McNeill argued that trial counsel was
ineffective for not entering written notice
of appeal when the Judge refused to accept
oral notice. The motion was successful
and the District Court ordered that the

State grant him a belated appeal in 90 days
or the Court would issue a writ releasing
the defendant. The State appealed and
NCPLS has been appointed to represent
the defendant in the Fourth Circuit Court
of Appeals.

Ms. McNeill also filed a state motion for
appropriate relief in a case where the lead
investigator made an improper remark
to a member of the jury, who was also
a law enforcement officer. Following
an evidentiary hearing on this issue, the
Superior Court denied relief. Ms. McNeill
submitted a petition for certiorari review
to the North Carolina Court of Appeals,
who granted the defendant a new trial in
January of 2008.
On June 4, 2008, Staff Attorney Michele
Luecking-Sunman presented an oral
argument before the North Carolina
Industrial Commission in a state tort claim
action. The case, which Ms. LueckingSunman tried before a deputy commissioner, involved an inmate who was beaten

forward their publications,
at the inmate’s expense, to an
alternate address if the publication is disapproved by the
PRC. In the past, PRC disapproved publications were usually
destroyed.
The Disapproval and Appeal
Waiver Form has been
revamped for better clarification.
Publishers will no longer be
permitted to opt out of receiving future notifications that
their publication has been
disapproved by the NC DOC.
If a publisher appeals, they
must be notified of the outcome
of the appeal within 15 days.
Under old policy, they were notified within 30 days.
Language prohibiting inmates
who are bilingual from purchasing publications not in
English has been removed.

and stabbed by two inmate-assailants who
had been allowed into our client’s cell.
Counsel for the State argued that our client
had not closed his cell door and that it was
therefore his fault the assailants gained
entry. Ms. Luecking-Sunman presented
arguments that referenced the testimony
at the hearing, namely that our client and
a witness both testified that the door was
in fact closed and locked and that the only
way for it to have been opened was from
the control booth. We hope to learn the
decision of the Commission soon.

Staff Attorney April Giancola was
recently named as one of the five
inaugural scholars for the N.C. Bar
Association’s Pathways to Inclusion
Leadership Academy. Pathways to
Inclusion, is a project of the NCBA
Diversity Task Force, and is designed to
provide leadership training to selected
attorneys from diverse backgrounds who
aspire to develop skills necessary to serve
(Continued on Page 5)

NCPLS ACCESS

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

Page 5

NCPLS STAFF IN ACTION
(CONTINUED)

(Continued From Page 4)
both state and local organizations and
underserved communities.
On March 28-29, 2008, NCPLS Interim
Executive Director Phil Griffin, along
with Staff Attorneys Sarah Blair, Dawn
Ducoste, and Dekhasta Rozier, attended
a conference in Washington, D.C., at
the George Washington School of Law,
entitled “Prison Litigation: A Workshop
for Plaintiffs’ Attorneys.” This conference
brought together a number of noted
practitioners, advocates and scholars in
the area of prisoner rights law. Some
of the topics discussed were the Prison
Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), including
ways to both deal with its barriers and
efforts to reform the PLRA; the Prison
Rape Elimination Act (PREA); the
Second Chance Act of 2007; and the use
of experts in litigation. This also served
as a valuable way for NCPLS to network
with other programs and individuals from
around the nation who are engaged in
work similar to our program.
Staff Attorney Sarah Blair is completing
a one-year term as Chair of the Forensics
Taskforce for the Criminal Defense Sec-

tion of the North Carolina Academy of
Trial Lawyers.
Staff Attorney Hoang Lam currently has
two cases before the North Carolina Court
of Appeals. In one case, the defendant
was convicted at trial for trafficking
offenses and was unsuccessful on appeal.
The appellate counsel did not argue on
appeal the issue of whether the trial court
had denied the defendant’s constitutional
right to represent himself. NCPLS filed
a motion for appropriate relief in the
superior court. Although the court denied
the motion, we successfully sought an
issuance of the writ for certiorari from the
Court of Appeals, which will review the
case again.
In the second case, the Department of
Correction recorded a habitual felon
sentence as consecutive, even though the
trial judge ordered it to be concurrent at
sentencing. The Court of Appeals agreed
to review the case and will decide whether
the trial judge had erred in failing to order
the Department of Correction to record the
sentence as concurrent.
Mr. Lam is also involved with a motion
for appropriate relief out of Robeson

County alleging that law enforcement
officers involved in the arrest and search
of the defendant were not truthful in their
application for a warrant. These claims
are supported, in part, by the federal
prosecution of several Robeson County
deputies in “Operation Tarnished Badge”
which has resulted in criminal convictions
for several officers.
Staff Attorney Ravi Manne and Paul
Green recently filed a federal habeas
corpus petition on behalf of a defendant convicted of first-degree murder.
The claim raised was that the defendant
received ineffective assistance of counsel due to a conflict of interest where
defendant’s trial counsel had previously
represented one of the State’s witnesses.
Trial counsel had interviewed this witness and obtained a statement favorable to
the defendant. After the State called the
witness to testify at trial, defense counsel
unsuccessfully sought to cross-examine
the witness and elicit the favorable statement from him. Counsel did not withdraw
from the representation or ask to take the
stand as a witness in order to bring out the
favorable statement.

Prison Rumors and the 2007-2008 Legislative Session

In previous editions of NCPLS Access, we
have reported on the existence of various rumors concerning changes in North
Carolina’s sentencing laws. Rarely a week
goes by that we do not receive inquiries
about the following subjects:
•

•

•

Whether inmates who were sentenced under the Fair Sentencing
Act (FSA), for crimes occurring
before October 1, 1994, will be
re-sentenced under the Structured
Sentencing Act (SSA)?
Whether there have been changes
concerning sentences for “nonviolent” offenders, which will
result in early release?
Whether felony parole, which
applies to FSA sentences will be
made to apply to SSA sentences
as well?

There are hundreds of bills introduced
every year in the General Assembly.
Some issues may have more than one bill
introduced to address them. In order for
a bill to become law, it must be passed by
both the Senate and House of Representatives, ratified, and signed by the Governor.
While there have been bills introduced
to address potential disparity between
FSA and SSA sentences, and to provide
the possibility for early release for some
types of offenders, at the time of this
writing, these have not been enacted
into law. Furthermore, there has been
no legislation introduced which would
re-introduce parole for felons convicted
under the SSA.
While we are unable to discuss every
bill dealing with criminal law or prisoner

rights issues that has been introduced,
we have assembled the following list of
bills, along with a brief description of
where they are currently in the legislative
process.
House Bill 1730, entitled “An Act to Balance Fair Sentencing and Structured Sentencing and to Keep Inmates Who Pose
Great Risks to Society in Prison,” would
provide that inmates convicted prior to
effective date of SSA would be paroled if
the Parole Commission determines that:
The inmate has served more time
than the maximum sentence that
would have been imposed under
the SSA.
• The inmate does not pose a
(Continued on Page 7)
•

Page 6

NCPLS ACCESS

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS THE SECOND CHANCE ACT
OF 2007 INTO LAW

In the March 2008 issue of NCPLS
Access, we reported on the passage of the
Second Chance Act of 2007 by Congress.
This legislation provides increased grant
funding to programs that are working
towards the re-entry of ex-offenders into
society. On April 9, 2008, President
Bush signed this Act into law. Below
are excerpts from the President’s signing
statement:

like to be loved themselves. And in the
process, they’re helping prisoners replace
anger and suffering and despair with faith
and hope and love.

The country was built on the belief that
each human being has limitless potential
and worth. Everybody matters. We believe
that even those who have struggled
with a dark past can find brighter days
ahead. One way we act on that belief is
by helping former prisoners who’ve paid
for their crimes -- we help them build
new lives as productive members of our
society.

First, the act will authorize important parts
of the administration’s Prison Re-entry
Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to
help America’s prisoners by expanding
job training and placement services,
improving their ability to find transitional
housing, and helping newly released
prisoners get mentoring, including from
faith-based groups.

The work of redemption reflects our
values. It also reflects our national
interests. Each year, approximately
650,000 prisoners are released from jail.
Unfortunately, an estimated two-thirds
of them are rearrested within three years.
The high recidivism rate places a huge
financial burden on taxpayers, it deprives
our labor force of productive workers, and
it deprives families of their daughters and
sons, and husbands and wives, and moms
and dads.
Our government has a responsibility to
help prisoners to return as contributing
members of their community. But this
does not mean that the government has all
the answers. Some of the most important
work to help ex-convicts is done outside
of Washington, D.C., in faith-based
communities and community-based
groups. It’s done on streets and small town
community centers. It’s done in churches
and synagogues and temples and mosques.
I like to call the folks who are engaged in
this compassionate work, “members of the
armies of compassion.” They help addicts
and users break the chains of addiction.
They help former prisoners find a ride to
work and a meal to eat and place to stay.
These men and women are answering
the call to love their neighbors as they’d

The bill I’m signing today, the Second
Chance Act of 2007, will build on work to
help prisoners reclaim their lives. In other
words, it basically says: We’re standing
with you, not against you.

The past three years, congressional
appropriations have supported the work
in 20 states through a series of pilot
programs awarded to community and
faith-based organizations by the U.S.
Department of Labor. The early efforts
have fielded promising results. In the
first two years of the program, more than
12,800 offenders have enrolled in the
prisoner re-entry program. More 7,900
have been placed in jobs. Only 18 percent
of those enrolled in the program have
been arrested again within a year -- that’s
less than half the national average. We like
to measure results, and the results of these
pilot programs are very encouraging.
With the legislation I’ll sign today,
Congress has recognized the success of
this good policy, and I thank them for
their good work. Secondly, the act will
support the Justice Department’s ongoing
work to help our nation’s prisoners. This
bill will help state and local governments,
and Indian tribes, and non-profit groups
implement programs that will improve the
prisoner re-entry process.
These programs will provide further -former prisoners with essential services,
like housing and medical care. It will help
develop prisoner drug treatment programs;
support prisoner mentoring initiatives. It
will support family counseling and other

services to help prisoners re-establish their
place in the community.
In both these ways, the Second Chance
Act will live up to its name; will help
ensure that where the prisoner’s spirit
is willing, the community’s resources
are available. It will help our armies of
compassion use their healing touch so
lost souls can rediscover their dignity and
sense of purpose.
I recently went to a program in Baltimore,
Maryland, called Jericho. I met a man
there who has kindly joined us today
named Thomas Boyd. He’s 53 years old.
He spent more than 20 years of his life
using drugs and going back and forth
to jail. He remembers the day when his
daughter sat down, looked him in the eye
and said, “Daddy, I think it’s time for you
to start doing something with your life.”
He took his daughter’s advice. He sought
out the Jericho re-entry program, which is
supported by the Re-entry Initiative. When
I visited the program, I tried to remind
them that the least shall be first. I also
reminded him I was a product of a faithbased program. I quit drinking -- and it
wasn’t because of a government program.
It required a little more powerful force
than a government program in my case.
And he told me that he appreciates the
love and compassion he felt -- feels
on a regular basis. He’s working, back
with his family; he’s a good guy. And I
want to thank you for coming, Thomas.
(Applause.)
I want to thank you for coming, Thomas.
There’s a lot of other Thomases out there
that we’re going to help with this bill. And
so I thank the members of Congress for
joining us. Thanks for your hard work. I
thank the members of my administration
who are going to see to it that the bill is
implemented properly.
And now it is my honor to sign this
important piece of legislation. May God
bless the country, and may God bless those
who are trying to help. Thank you very
much.

Volume VIII, Issue 2, June 2008

NCPLS ACCESS

Page 7

Prison Rumors and the 2007-2008 Legislative Session

(Continued From Page 5)

•

substantial risk for violence or
recidivism.
The Commission determines
that the inmate’s crime was not
so heinous that the Commission
cannot in good conscience release
the person.

A “maximum sentence” is calculated as
the top of Level VI in the presumptive
range for the same class of offense as
would apply under the SSA. This act does
not apply to persons serving life sentences
for first-degree murder. This bill was
referred to the House Committee on the
Judiciary (II) on April 19, 2007, and has
not come out of committee review at this
time.
Two Senate bills would affect the potential
sentences for persons convicted of drug
trafficking. Under Senate Bill 727 a drug
trafficking defendant could receive a probationary sentence if the court determined
that:
1.

2.

The person provided substantial assistance in the
identification, arrest, or conviction of any accomplices,
accessories, co-conspirators,
or;
The person has no prior convictions for crimes that produced or threatened serious
bodily harm; has no prior
felony convictions for the
manufacture, sale, delivery,
or possession of controlled
substances as defined in this
Article; and the sentencing
judge finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the
person: (i) did not possess
a firearm during the commission of the offense; (ii)
played a minimal role in
the drug scheme that led to
the offense; (iii) carried out
the offense at the direction
of another; and (iv) stood
to receive substantially less
pecuniary gain from the

(Continued)

offense than the person who
directed the commission of
the offense

Senate Bill 1504 contains the same
language providing for probationary
sentences, and also amends GS 15A1370A by providing that the DOC has the
authority to grant early release to a person
convicted of drug trafficking if:
1.

2.

3.
4.

At the time of the
inmate’s sentencing,
he or she satisfied
all of the criteria in
G.S. 90-95(h)(5)b
for a possible
probationary
sentence (first
offense, no use of
a firearm, minimal
role, etc.);
The inmate has no
violence-related
infractions or
attempted escapes
on his or her record
while incarcerated;
Has served at least
one-half of his or
her sentence; and
Does not have an
order of removal
against him or her
from the United
States Office of
Homeland Security.

In determining whether to grant an early
release, the DOC may consider:
1.

2.

Whether the
inmate’s early
release would
unduly depreciate
the seriousness
of the inmate’s
crime or promote
disrespect for the
law;
Whether the
inmate’s continued
correctional
treatment, medical

3.

care, or vocational
or other training
in the institution
will substantially
enhance the
inmate’s capacity to
lead a law-abiding
life if the inmate is
released at a later
date; and
Whether there is a
substantial risk that
the inmate would
engage in further
criminal conduct in
the United States.”

Both of these bills were referred to Senate
Committees in March 2007 and have not
come out of committee review.
Senate Bill 1955 would provide for the
limited release of certain prisoners to
immigration officials for deportation.
Under this bill, persons convicted of
non-violent offenses, who had served at
least one-half of their minimum sentence,
and for whom the DOC had received a
final order of removal from the United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), could be released at the
discretion of the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission. An inmate
who returns illegally after such a release
could, in addition to other penalties, be
re-arrested and made to serve the remainder of his prior sentence(s). This bill was
referred to the Senate Committee on the
Judiciary on May 27, 2008.
Senate Bill 1480 allows for the release of
inmates who are determined to be “permanently and totally disabled, terminally
ill, or geriatric,” and “incapacitated to
the extent that the inmate does not pose
a public safety risk.” The bill, which
adds several new statutory sections to
Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, sets
up procedures for seeking such medical
release. This bill has been passed by both
the House and Senate, ratified, and sent to
the Governor for signature.
(Continued on Page 8)

THE NEWSLETTER OF NORTH CAROLINA
PRISONER LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
1110 Wake Forest Road
P.O. Box 25397
Raleigh, NC 27611
Phone: (919) 856-2200
Fax: (919) 856-2223
Email: ncpls@ncpls.org

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House Bill 2105 would increase the
amount of compensation due to a person
who had been wrongly convicted and
received a pardon of innocence from the
Governor. Under this bill the amount of
authorized compensation would increase
from $20,000.00 to $40,000.00 per year,
up to a maximum amount of $750,000.00.
The Industrial Commission would also
be permitted to make adjustments in
these awards to reflect increased in the
Consumer Price Index. The Industrial
Commission would also be empowered
to make additional compensation for lost
educational and training opportunities
caused by the wrongful conviction, which
could be used to pay tuition for such training. This bill was referred to the House
Committee on the Judiciary May 15,
2008. If it receives a favorable review in
that committee it will be forwarded to the
House Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 1214 would amend the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Adult
Offenders. This Compact allows for persons who are on probation, parole, or other

types of supervised release to transfer
supervision to another state. Among the
changes that would be made is the addition of two new positions to the Interstate
Compact Commission, one of whom is a
district attorney and the other a Sheriff,
both of whom are to be appointed by the
Governor. Another proposed amendment
is a requirement that the transferee pay a
transfer application fee of $150.00. (This
may be waived if the Compact Commissioner determines that such a fee would
be an undue burden on the applicant.) An
additional amendment would allow for
waiver of the monthly supervision fee for
persons who are being supervised under
the Compact if it is determined that this
fee would also be an undue burden. This
bill has passed the Senate and has been
referred to the House. It is currently
before the House Committee on Finance.
We will continue to monitor legislative
developments and report on bills of interest in future editions of NCPLS Access.