News Roundup

Published for NC Criminal Law on February 02, 2024.

This week Governor Cooper signed an executive order to improve reentry services throughout the state. The order aims to enhance coordination between agencies and increase access to post-release employment opportunities and programs such as work release. With the announcement of the order, North Carolina became the third state (joining Alabama and Missouri) to sign on to Reentry 2030, a national initiative with ambitious goals. The goals include increasing the number of high school and post-secondary credentials earned by incarcerated people by 75%, increasing the number of post-secondary degrees that are available in prisons by 25%, reducing the number of incarcerated people being released homeless by 50%, and allowing every person who is eligible to apply for Medicaid before release. The executive order also calls for more local reentry councils. Read on for more criminal law news. Alec Baldwin back in criminal justice headlines. Actor Alec Baldwin last appeared on this blog in April 2023, but he is back in the news in recent weeks as special prosecutors in Santa Fe have brought an involuntary manslaughter charge against him for the second time. The indictment stems from a fatal shooting on a New Mexico movie set in 2021. Baldwin was previously indicted exactly one year before this indictment. Prosecutors dismissed the first charge last April, believing that the gun may have malfunctioned, but further forensic analysis caused them to change their minds and conclude that the trigger must have been pulled. Omnibus D.C. crime bill up for vote in February. District of [...]