By: Jordan Meadows, Staff Writer
On Monday, a coalition of human and civil rights organizations held a press conference where they called on North Carolina prison officials to release nearly 2,000 incarcerated individuals following what they describe as “dangerous overcrowding” in state prisons, worsened by the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
The coalition’s letter, sent to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC), highlights severe conditions in multiple prisons that have resulted from the evacuation of inmates from five facilities in Western North Carolina.
Craggy Correctional Institution in Asheville, as well as facilities in Spruce Pine and Swannanoa, were the main areas of damage. With repairs still underway, more than 2,190 incarcerated individuals were transferred to prisons in the central and eastern parts of the state, including Wake County. The rapid influx of inmates into already overcrowded facilities has exacerbated dire conditions, advocates say.
“The hurricane stretched every system and resource in the state. And while we’ve seen an inspiring outpouring of support and community organizing and mutual aid flowing into those western counties, prisons are some of the last places people think to check on,” Luke Willard with Disability Rights NC said.
According to the letter sent by groups including the ACLU of North Carolina, Disability Rights NC, and Emancipate NC, some facilities have now surpassed 100 percent capacity, with certain prisons operating at over 130 percent capacity. Prison staff, already understaffed and stretched thin before the storm, are now unable to manage the growing population.
“I think one of the biggest problems plaguing our prison systems across the state regardless of the hurricane is this staffing issue, and we know that leads to increased safety concerns for both people who are incarcerated and staff, so adding more people is still creating dangerous situations,” staff attorney for the ACLU of NC Ivy Johnson said.
The coalition is advocating for the immediate release of 400 women and 1,500 low-risk men through compassionate release. This measure mirrors actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic when nearly 4,500 individuals were released to alleviate overcrowding.
The groups argue that such a step is necessary to reduce tension and improve conditions, which have become particularly harmful for vulnerable populations, including individuals with disabilities who require assistance with daily activities and specialized medical care.
Willard pointed out that people with disabilities make up about 40 percent of the incarcerated population in state prisons, many of whom are severely impacted by overcrowding and inadequate care. He also noted that 75 percent of the incarcerated population in North Carolina suffer from substance use disorders, further complicating the need for specialized care.
Prison conditions have reached a breaking point, according to the groups. Women prisoners at facilities like Anson Correctional Center for Women have reported a lack of access to clean clothes, reduced food rations, and a general lack of supplies to accommodate the surge in inmate population. Many incarcerated individuals are also facing challenges with limited communication with loved ones, and in some cases, forced to defecate in plastic bags due to lack of working plumbing in affected facilities.
“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,” the advocates’ letter stated.
Advocates are also concerned about the hurricane’s long-term impact on the prison system. With no clear timeline for restoring utilities or reopening the affected facilities, they are urging prison officials to take a proactive approach to future climate-related disasters. The groups are looking to work with environmental justice organizations to develop strategies for mitigating the risks of prison overcrowding in an era of increasing climate emergencies.
“Why isn’t the most obvious solution to let people out of cages? So we sent a letter, as a coalition, to the Department of Corrections to say just that. Clearly, they need us to state the obvious. What needs to happen to avoid unconstitutional conditions in our prisons in North Carolina is for people to be let out of cages,” Executive Director of Emancipate NC Dawn Blagrove said.
The coalition has given prison officials three weeks to respond to the letter, threatening legal action if the state fails to act on the overcrowding crisis. According to Willard, nearly 20,000 North Carolinians are released from prisons each year.
The letter, which is also signed by organizations like North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Disability Law United, and the Coalition for Social Justice, calls for a humane response to a crisis that they argue is both a result of climate change and a deeper systemic failure in the state’s prison infrastructure.
