‘Make your deeds match your words,’ racial justice group tells NC Attorney General Stein
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Attorneys from the civil rights nonprofit Emancipate NC say Attorney General Josh Stein has been a disappointment and are challenging him to be a better advocate for racial justice.
In a public letter Tuesday, the Durham-based organization expressed concern that Stein, who co-chairs the N.C. Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, has defended convictions in appellate court that involved allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection and death sentences.
The organization also expressed concerns about wrongful convictions and juveniles sentenced to life in prison, and it said Stein should do more to investigate injustices outside the courts, such as Alamance County sheriff’s deputies and Graham police pepper-spraying people on a march to the polls in October.
“Today Emancipate NC is asking you to make your deeds match your words,” executive director Dawn Blagrove said during a virtual news conference.
Josh Stein’s response
The News & Observer asked Stein’s office about Emancipate NC’s concerns.
Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for Stein, provided a statement that said Stein appreciates people across the state who are working to improve the criminal justice system and has learned from them.
“As Attorney General and co-chair of the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, Stein is dedicated to furthering racial equity in law enforcement and the courts,” the statement said. “He is working with policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders to implement the many recommendations of the Task Force throughout the criminal justice system. And he is committed to pursuing justice for all in his work as Attorney General.”
‘Slowed or was an obstacle to justice’
The Emancipate letter said Stein, a Democrat elected to a second term in November, has said he supports reforms to address racial and other injustices but has defended related harmful practices in appellate courts.
“Whether it was racial discrimination in jury selection or application of the death penalty; protecting medically vulnerable people in prison during the pandemic; the withholding by police and prosecutors of exculpatory evidence; racial profiling by law enforcement; or the sentencing of juveniles to life in prison without parole — on these issues and more, Stein’s office either slowed or was an obstacle to justice,” the letter stated.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s appointing Stein co-chair of the Task Force for Racial Equity “raised eyebrows” among advocates, who have had concerns about the attorney general’s approach to issues raised in the report, the letter states.
In December, the task forced released dozens of recommendations to address racial bias in the state’s policing and criminal justice systems.
There is a disconnect between the Stein’s stated goals and values and his criminal division’s actions, said Ian Mance, a staff attorney with Emancipate NC.
“There is a sense that they will reflexively defend any conviction almost regardless of the facts,” Mance said.
Cierra Cobb, who works for Emancipate NC and is married to someone in state prison, said Stein’s silence on the state’s handling of COVID-19 in prisons has been disheartening.
Emancipate NC was one of several organizations that sued the state over prison conditions during the pandemic. Under a settlement announced last month, 3,500 prisoners will be granted early release over the next six months.
Life sentences for juveniles
The letter references other convictions that Stein’s office has and continues to defend in appellate courts.
Those cases include the 2018 Cumberland County conviction of James Ryan Kelliher, who at age 17 participated in a robbery that ended with the murder of a man and his pregnant girlfriend. After Kelliher pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other charges, the judge initially sentenced him to two life sentences without parole.
Kelliher was later resentenced to two life sentences with parole to align with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said rules requiring a mandatory life sentence without parole for someone convicted of a murder they committed under the age of 18 are unconstitutional.
Under the new sentence, Kelliher would have been eligible for parole at age 67. His attorney successfully argued on appeal that the sentence was a de facto life sentence. The sentence was overturned in the Court of Appeals in October, but Stein’s office has appealed it to the Supreme Court.
Other organizations
The N&O asked other civil rights organizations Tuesday if they shared Emancipate NC’s concerns. Representatives for the N.C. NAACP and North Carolina Advocates for Justice declined to comment, saying they would need to review the letter.
An official with the ACLU of North Carolina said they do share share many of the concerns, especially on issues of mass incarceration and racial inequity.
“Attorney General Josh Stein’s leadership often lacks vision, courage, and commitment. Mediocre leadership perpetuates hardships in the legal system by disguising inaction as progress,” wrote Daniel Bowes, director of policy and advocacy for the organization
As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, Stein has the power to bring change that advocacy groups do not, Bowes wrote.
“In his four-plus years in office, it is troubling that he has continually failed to use his powers to deter police violence or address prosecutorial abuse,” Bowes wrote.
Suggested changes
Emancipate NC officials said they wrote the letter now to encourage Stein to examine in his second term how his office approaches cases that argue North Carolinians’ civil and other rights have been violated.
Some actions the organization said Stein could take to address some of these concerns include:
▪ Not challenging the appeals of convictions based on prosecutorial or law enforcement misconduct.
▪ Taking seriously and investigating claims of innocence.
▪ Creating a working group to discuss and advise on the implications of defending appeals of cases involving civil rights or race.
“We want you to be intentional and deliberate about deciding which cases further the cause of justice and which cases have the potential of hindering justice for those folks who are already marginalized,” Blagrove said.
▪ Stop defending juvenile life without parole sentences.
Stein the individual vs. the AG’s Office
The issues that Emancipate NC are raising are relevant, but for the most part will need to be addressed by laws or changes in policy, said Irving Joyner, a law professor at N.C. Central University.
There is difference between Stein the individual and his office, which has a statutory obligation to represent the state, typically the local district attorney’s office, in appellate cases, Joyner said.
Unless Stein’s staff find a “clear legal error,” which is rare, they are obligated to defend the state as the case moves forward and let the appellate courts decide, Joyner said.
“It is entirely feasible that (Stein) might have a policy position that differs from what the established law is in North Carolina, and in that situation his office is obligated to follow what they claim to be the operative North Carolina law,” he said.
