RALEIGH, N.C. – This holiday, 151 inmates are sitting on North Carolina's death row.

In 2013, only one new person joined them, and no one has been executed in the state in seven years.

That trend matches what's being seen nationally, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center.

Gretchen Engel, executive director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, says the state and national figures are proof of public sentiment.

"That's the public talking,” she says. “That's jurors who are very aware of the seriousness of the crime, they've listened to the evidence. But at the end of the day, they say, 'Life without parole is sufficient.'"

Nationwide, there were 39 executions in 2013 – a 10 percent decrease since last year – and carried out in only nine states.

This year, North Carolina lawmakers made an attempt to resume executions and end inquiries about racial bias in the legal system by overturning the Racial Justice Act.

Engel says regardless of a citizen's moral stance on the death penalty, data indicates that maintaining capital punishment is declining as a priority for voters, and that fewer prosecutors are pursuing death sentences in trial.

"Their perception as well has changed over time about, you know, 'Is this worth our time, to put all this energy and resources into a capital case, if what's likely to happen is we're going to get a life sentence anyway?'" he says.

A bipartisan poll of North Carolina voters earlier this year found that nearly 70 percent favored replacing the death penalty with life in prison without parole, if offenders are forced to work and pay restitution.




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A new report found Muslim students in New York City public schools face high levels of discrimination in school.

The report from the Council on American Islamic Relations-New York showed close to 60% of students surveyed were bullied by another student for being Muslim. Almost half reported having their hijab tugged, pulled or offensively touched by another student. Most felt reporting such incidents will not make a difference.

Sarah Shahlan, research project coordinator for the council, said it has only escalated since the war in Gaza began last year.

"A lot of incidents were being reported to CAIR New York from students in schools about repression and being suspended and having disciplinary action against themselves," Shahlan reported. "It's simply because of expressing their views."

She added students also face bullying because they physically look Muslim. The report's recommendations included creating anti-bullying policies and developing a task force for Islamophobia to understand the challenges Muslim students face. Shalan acknowledged some challenges to put them into action are if schools are willing to take them seriously and if schools have resources to do them.

Muslim students are not just facing bullying from their peers, as 29% of students reported a school faculty member made offensive comments or acted offensively toward Muslims.

Shahlan noted the report outlined why the incidents often go unreported.

"A lot of the students don't feel that it's necessary to report these incidents or that they don't feel comfortable reporting to an adult at school," Shahlan outlined. "One of the key findings was that over 70% of the students didn't report to adults at school."

She wants state policymakers to understand the takeaways in the report are a small part of a much broader issue Muslims face. During the previous legislative session, New York state lawmakers introduced legislation designed to curb discrimination and harassment in schools. One bill called for creating an educational program to prevent discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression but it failed in committee.


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A year-old U.S. Supreme Court case means relief for two Nebraskans who faced losing their homes and all the equity they had built, when investment firms bought their property for unpaid property taxes.

Legal Aid of Nebraska, with Pacific Legal Foundation as lead counsel, appealed a Nebraska State Supreme Court ruling saying the homeowners were not entitled to the equity in their homes.

In Pacific Legal's landmark 2023 case, Tyler v. Hennepin, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled homeowners in such a situation must be paid for any surplus equity, after taxes and fees. It vacated the decision of the Nebraska Supreme Court, which, upon revisiting the case, concluded the Nebraska homeowners must receive "just compensation" for their equity.

Christina Martin, senior attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the Tyler decision could open doors for others similarly affected.

"The bottom line is, people who think they have a claim should reach out to Legal Aid of Nebraska," Martin urged. "They could also reach out to property rights attorneys, eminent domain attorneys. And ultimately, this decision is going to protect Nebraska's weakest population the most."

Martin explained, subject to states' statutes of limitations, the Tyler decision is fully retroactive. She added tax foreclosures disproportionately affect older or low-income homeowners, or those with medical conditions.

Caitlin Cedfeldt, staff attorney of the Housing Justice Project for Legal Aid of Nebraska, said it's a victory for the two homeowners and all Nebraskans.

"It is still possible for someone to lose their home, but if they are going to lose the home, they are going to at least get the equity out of it," Cedfeldt explained. "It's kind of incredible that both of these elderly clients will have a chance maybe at keeping their homes."

Cedfeldt pointed out it was the first case Legal Aid of Nebraska filed before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2023, several years after these homeowners' cases were initiated, Nebraska law was changed to require that homeowners receive any surplus equity in property tax foreclosures.


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A U.S. Senate subcommittee has uncovered widespread abuse of pregnant and postpartum women incarcerated nationwide, including in Georgia.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, said its research has found more than 200 reported cases of human rights violations against women in state prisons and jails. He said the abuses range from neglect during labor to newborns being taken away immediately after birth.

"We've heard from mothers forced to give birth in prison showers, hallways or on dirty cell floors," he said. "Mothers who gave birth into toilets, after being told they were 'not in labor.'"

Despite laws in 41 states including Georgia that prohibit or restrict shackling pregnant and postpartum people in prison, the subcommittee said violations were found in at least 16 states.

During last week's hearing, Jessica Umberger, who gave birth in a Georgia state prison, testified about the abuse she endured. She recounted being forced to have a Cesarean section, and said she was denied proper hygiene and placed in solitary confinement shortly after the birth.

"I was put in solitary when my baby was only five days old," she said. "In solitary confinement, I had no medical support. The staples in my stomach from my C-section had not dissolved, and there was no air conditioner."

The senators also heard from Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She suggested changes to address mistreatment and improve conditions for those who are pregnant behind bars.

"There are many opportunities for policy and practice change that could improve conditions and the well-being of pregnant and postpartum women in prisons and jails, as well as for their newborns," she said. "One is to find a pathway to require medical standards of care."

She said expanding Medicaid to cover people in prison could help enforce these standards.

Ossoff stressed the need for bipartisanship, and said further investigation is needed.