‘I thought I was gonna die in prison.' How COVID is opening NC prison gates.


Three incarcerated people and a coalition of social justice groups sued North Carolina over its prison COVID-19 policies, winning a settlement that is accelerating releases from prison that began at the start of the pandemic. The state's prison population is already 17% lower than it was before the pandemic. Under the settlement, 3,500 more people will be granted early releases, which have begun to occur, under new criteria that changed prison rules to recognize the urgency of getting people away from a virus breeding ground.

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