North Carolina FAMM Campaign
3/2008
State project suspended
After six years, FAMM is suspending our campaign to reform state mandatory sentences in North Carolina. We will continue to track legislative efforts in North
Carolina and update members with legislative alerts. Many thanks to FAMM members in North Carolina who participated in our state campaign efforts and those who made our work in North Carolina worthwhile, including: Susan Katzenelson and John Madler of the North Carolina Sentencing Commission; LaFonda Jones General, former N.C. FAMM project director; Randolph Cloud of Randolph Cloud and Associates; Landon Adams, executive director of the Triangle Lost Generation Task Force; Sarah Preston, ACLU; and Jack Register of the National Association of Social Workers North Carolina.
If you are interested in more information on reform efforts in North Carolina, please contact the Triangle Lost Generation Task Force, Inc. at trianglelgtf@mac.com or (919) 256-4259 or the Carolina Justice Policy Center at http://www.justicepolicycenter.org/ or (919) 681-1149.
Background on North Carolina mandatory minimums
North Carolina has mandatory sentencing laws on the books that apply to certain state convictions, including the Habitual Felon Act and drug offenses. Legislation to repeal North Carolina's Habitual Felon Act narrowly failed in 1994, the same year the state enacted new sentencing guidelines. After 1994, prosecutors charged many more under the act, which "trumps" the guidelines and mandates extremely tough penalties for repeat offenses, regardless how minor the offense that triggers the Habitual Felon charges.
Anyone convicted of a felony who has at least three prior felony convictions - or even some prior misdemeanors - can be charged as a habitual felon. Two-thirds convicted under the act committed low-level, nonviolent felonies such as minor property crimes or non-trafficking drug offenses. Many of these individuals are chemically addicted and/or have an underlying mental illness. Both the Habitual Felon Act and the state's harsh mandatory minimum drug sentences prevent judges from using the state's acclaimed structured sentencing guidelines to impose sentences more closely tailored to the facts of each case and each individual's potential for rehabilitation.
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