North Carolina human and civil rights groups are demanding that state officials take action to ease prison overcrowding worsened by Hurricane Helene. (Image: Adobe Stock)
A coalition of eight North Carolina human and civil rights groups are demanding the release of nearly 2,000 incarcerated people to ease what they are calling “dangerous, inhumane overcrowding,” in state prisons — a situation exacerbated by Hurricane Helene.
“The state is incapable of properly providing humane conditions and constitutional care for the people who are inside of prisons, and as a result, it has a constitutional duty to rectify that situation,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, in this morning press conference at the NC Correctional Institution for Women.
Last month, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction announced that it transferred 2,190 people from five prisons in western North Carolina to facilities in the central and eastern parts of the state due to the storm.
At the time, the department said space was the primary factor considered when relocating inmates to other prisons. The agency said it also took into account the medical needs of each inmate to ensure they could receive appropriate care at their new location.
But now, advocates say the transfers have further strained resources and overcrowded prisons further east, exacerbating an already dire situation marked by severe staff shortages. In April, NC Newsline reported that about 39% of correctional officer jobs in North Carolina prisons were vacant.
“For the incarcerated, a shortage of correctional officers means long lockdowns, limited access to health care, counseling, or programming, and reduced opportunities for recreation and showering,” the advocates wrote in a letter to prison officials. “These conditions only increase tensions between the prison population and the staff and result in more incidents of violence. Since the emergency prison transfers due to Hurricane Helene, these conditions have become all the more dire.”
According to the letter, several prisons, including Anson Correctional Center for Women, now operate at over 100% capacity, with some facilities exceeding 130%. People report being forced to sleep on gym floors and having restricted access to food, sanitation and medical care, the groups wrote. They say the overcrowding has also led to increased tension and even violent incidents.
To ease the burden on the system, advocates are urging prison officials to consider the release of 400 women, and 1,500 low-risk men through compassionate release. The proposal echoes measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, when prison officials sent nearly 4,500 individuals home.
DAC denies the allegations made in the letter, calling them “grossly exaggerated.”
“The Department of Adult Correction has received a letter from a coalition of advocacy groups expressing concerns about prison system conditions in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Many of the claims made in the letter are misinformed or grossly exaggerated,” according to DAC spokesperson Keith Acree in a statement.
The five affected western North Carolina prisons are Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine, the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women, the Craggy Correctional Center in Asheville, Mountain View Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine, and the Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa.
The relocations are expected to last until utility repairs are completed, which could take an extended period. The department maintains an offender locator website that it said is being regularly updated.
Acree said the timeframe for water and sewer restoration to the five facilities remains unclear, but Craggy Correctional Institution in Asheville may be reopened in the coming weeks. The timeline for return to facilities in Spruce Pine and Swannanoa appears to be longer, he said.
Organizers say they are prepared to take legal action if the state fails to address the crisis within three weeks.
The following groups signed the letter: The ACLU of North Carolina, Disability Law United, Disability Rights NC, Emancipate NC, Forward Justice, North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Coalition for Social Justice and The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law.