‘Everyone deserves a second chance’: Hundreds lobby for criminal legal reform, policy changes in NC

Chloe Rafferty
·2 min read
2

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Groups from across North Carolina are asking state lawmakers to give people with a criminal record a second chance.

Hundreds of people lobbied outside the state legislative building Tuesday for criminal legal reform. It was part of Second Chance Lobby Day through the North Carolina Second Chance Alliance.

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People shared their stories with CBS 17, saying just one mistake could impact people for the rest of their lives.

“I want to make it so that you don’t have as many worries as I had when I came home,” said Victor Vincent, just one of many people in North Carolina with previous convictions who is advocating for a second chance.

He said he has worked hard to become a successful member of the community.

“So many people fail because there’s not a second chance for them,” he explained. “All we want to do is win. We want to come home, provide for our families, take care of our families and be great members of our community.”

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To help people do this, the North Carolina Second Chance Alliance shared a list of bills they want to see passed in the state:

  • H888, abolition of debt-based Driver’s License suspension, which impacts more than 800,000 community members

  • S339, reduction of the severity of the Driver’s License revocation period

  • S565, resumption of Automatic Expungements, currently over 1 million records are paused from automatically being cleared

  • H778, relief from ransom websites like Mugshot.com that force innocent people to pay to have their images removed, even though over 30% of criminal cases are dismissed after arrest

“We could start seeing bills move here in the next couple of weeks, said Sarah Crawford, who represents the 66th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

North Carolinians who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system; N.C. Sen. Julie Mayfield and NC Rep. Terry Brown Jr. at a press conference Tuesday (Chloe Rafferty/CBS 17)
North Carolinians who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system; N.C. Sen. Julie Mayfield and NC Rep. Terry Brown Jr. at a press conference Tuesday (Chloe Rafferty/CBS 17)

She said she and other lawmakers are advocating for these changes as well.

“Every single person is deserving of a second chance because you may have made one mistake a bunch of years ago,” Crawford said. “We need to be doing everything we can to help people re-enter society.”

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