SATANA DEBERRY

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PROSECUTORIAL DISTRICT 16
510 SOUTH DILLARD STREET, 8TH FLOOR
DURHAM, NC 27701
0 919-808-3010 I F 919-808-3034

NEWS RELEASE
(For Immediate Release)

March 1, 2019

FROM: Satana Deberry

CONTACT: Brenda Ford Harding

Deputy Chief for Legal and Community Affairs
919-808-3010
brendaTharding@nccourts.org

DURHAM, NC--Yesterday, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, in consultation with
Chief District Court Judge Patricia Evans, published a pretrial release policy to guide judges and
magistrates in setting conditions of release while people charged with crimes await trial. I commend
Judge Hudson and Judge Evans for pushing Durham toward a system in which detention is no longer
wealth-based, a system in which we determine who is jailed and who is free based on actual danger to
our community and risk of flight rather than the amount of money to which one has access.

The District Attorney's Office has also been hard at work developing and refining an internal policy to
guide our prosecutors around conditions of pre-trial release. Together, these shifts in policy will lead to
taxpayer dollars saved without sacrificing community safety or individual freedoms.

In recent months, the internal policy of the District Attorney's Office has resulted in a steadily
decreasing jail population, while the most dangerous individuals remain confined. In the months and
years ahead, we will continue to strive toward a system of justice that ensures safety without sacrificing
equity.

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