March 2021 Newsletter
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office newsletter highlights the work staff do in and out of the courthouse.
In The Community
NC Policy Watch Hosts DA Deberry for ‘Crucial Conversation’
NC Policy Watch hosted DA Deberry and Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove on March 10 for a Crucial Conversation on mass incarceration, race, and criminal justice reform. DA Deberry discussed confronting pervasive racial inequities in the criminal legal system, prioritizing violent crimes, and working to mitigate the collateral consequences of court involvement.
DA Deberry said the Office works to avoid punishing people for crimes rooted in poverty or homelessness — instead shifting its focus to serious and violent offenses.
“Our goal here is to always be pushing forward policies that focus on how to keep us safe and not on punishing people in our community, especially now, who don’t have enough money and consequently don’t have a place to live, who sometimes commit crimes that are the result of poverty, sometimes commit crimes that are the result of substance use… What I would argue is that in the ‘tough on crime’ eras, what we’ve done is focus on the very low-level stuff, the easiest things to incarcerate people for — not the things that keep us unsafe.” — DA Deberry
DA Deberry also emphasized the kinds of violence that society often doesn’t discuss publicly: intimate partner and family violence. Domestic violence is often at the root of homicides and other violent offenses, she said. Frequently, both defendants and victims have been exposed to domestic violence “and that is the kind of thing that reverberates throughout generations,” Deberry said.
Watch video of the virtual event here.
DA Deberry Discusses Justice Reform with Philadelphia District Attorney
DA Deberry participated in a panel discussion about justice reform as part of the 2021 Law Enforcement and Public Health (LEPH) Conference, an annual conference sponsored by the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association. The panel followed a sneak peek at the new documentary series Philly DA, about Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. DA Deberry, DA Krasner, and the producer/director of Philly DA discussed limiting the use of cash bail, reducing detention populations during COVID-19, and ongoing work to build a more fair and equitable justice system.
ADA Burnette Shares Information on Constitutional Rights
Assistant District Attorney Monica Burnette spoke at a Know Your Rights program hosted by the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on March 16. ADA Burnette, who is the District Court Team lead ADA, discussed constitutional rights and the role of the prosecutor in the criminal legal system.
DA’s Office Staff Participate in Cross-Agency Training on Diversion
DA’s Office personnel participated in a cross-agency training between Durham’s criminal legal system and service providers. The multi-day training focused on diverting people from the criminal legal system and toward resources, like mental health services and substance use treatment. The DA’s Office, the Criminal Justice Resource Center, Alliance Behavioral Health and other stakeholders across Durham’s system of care participated.
ADA Lindsey Spain, who leads the Juvenile Team, led a presentation on juvenile court. The DA’s Office is committed to mitigating the collateral consequences of court involvement for young people and diverting juvenile cases for community services whenever possible.
DA Deberry spoke more broadly about the DA’s Office and how it diverts appropriate cases from the courts. DA Deberry explained that criminal convictions can limit a person’s opportunities and lead to future justice- involvement. In cases where public safety is not at risk, the DA’s Office may look for other ways to hold the defendant accountable. For cases involving serious or persistent mental illness or substance use, the DA’s Office may also utilize specialty diversion courts in Durham.
The Criminal Justice Resource Center presented on a new diversion program created with the DA’s Office in 2020 for low-level felony cases. The goal of the Post-Arrest Diversion Program is to hold people with a history of justice-involvement accountable, while connecting them to the services and resources they need to not return to court. As of December 2020, no participants had been terminated from the program.
In The Office
Mary Jude Darrow Sworn in as Homicide & Violent Crimes ADA
Mary Jude Darrow was sworn in as a prosecutor with the DA’s Office on March 22. She joins the Homicide & Violent Crimes Team.
Darrow has practiced criminal defense in Raleigh for the past 16 years, specializing in homicides and other violent felonies. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 14 years in North Carolina and Louisiana, prosecuting major narcotics and fraud cases, and as an Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans.
New District Court Team Adapts to COVID-19 Protocols
In October, DA Deberry created a District Court Team to prosecute non-traffic misdemeanor cases. The District Court Team is the subject of a recent installment of Get to Know DCDAO, an occasional series about the people who make up the Durham County District Attorney’s Office.
The post introduces the staff members who make up the District Court Team, outlines their responsibilities, and describes how they have helped to adapt busy District Courts to continue serving the public safely during the pandemic. Although the cases handled in these courts are often less severe, according to DA Deberry “District Court is often where the most persistent and consistent problems in our community show up first” — including cases related to drug use, poverty, and domestic violence.
ADA Spain Appointed to Juvenile Crime Prevention Council
Juvenile Team Lead ADA Lindsey Spain was appointed as the DA’s Office representative to Durham’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. The council reviews the needs of juveniles in Durham who are at risk of criminal justice involvement and develop action plans to meet those needs. Prior to joining the DA’s Office, ADA Spain previously represented juveniles as a criminal defense attorney
DA’s Office Streamlines Durham’s Superior Court Trial Calendar
DA’s Office staff are undertaking an initiative to streamline the Office’s Superior Court calendaring process. Staff spent several days in March learning new ways to use our case management system and entering upcoming trial dates for Superior Court cases. The goals of this initiative are to set Superior Court calendars further in advance, automatically generate weekly court calendars, and provide easy access to the calendar for attorneys, media, and the public. As a result of this effort, Superior Court calendars (in addition to District and Traffic courts) are now published on the Judicial Branch website. Christi Stark and Cashie Lee of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys provided training and technical support.
In the Courts
ADA Spain Secures Plea in 2019 Hillside Park Homicide
ADA Spain secured a conviction in a 2019 homicide in which the victim was shot and found in a gazebo in Hillside Park. The defendant pleaded guilty March 9 to voluntary manslaughter, which is a Class D felony. Under the plea agreement, the defendant, who was 18 at the time of his arrest, must work toward obtaining his GED during his active sentence.
ADA Norman Secures Conviction in Statutory Sex Offense Case
ADA Blake Norman secured a conviction in a statutory sex offense case that occurred over a period of more than a year. The defendant met the victim, who was 14 at the time, over the Whispers dating app. The defendant pleaded guilty on March 16 to attempted statutory sex offense with a child 15 or younger, which is a Class B2 felony. The defendant also recently pleaded guilty in a similar case in Wake County.
ADA Williamson Secures Plea in String of Vehicle Break-ins
ADA Williamson closed a case involving a string of vehicle break-ins that occurred throughout 2020. Items stolen from the vehicles included a machete, a tablet computer, and a GPS device that ultimately led Durham police to the defendant. The defendant pleaded guilty March 1 to four counts of felony breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, which is a Class I felony, and one count of felony larceny, which is a Class H felony. The defendant had been a suspect in approximately 15 car break-ins, mostly in North Durham.
ADA Spain Closes 2017 Shooting That Killed One, Injured Another
ADA Spain secured a conviction in a July 2017 shooting that killed one person and injured another. The defendant pleaded guilty March 22 to second-degree murder, a Class B1 felony and attempted first-degree murder, a B2 felony. In court, ADA Spain stated that the defendant had gone to Rockwood Park to make an illicit purchase. The deceased victim was found shot near the park entrance. Charges remain pending against a co-defendant in the case.
In The News
DA Deberry was quoted in a News & Observer article exploring whether North Carolina should raise the minimum age at which children can be brought to court. Currently, the minimum age is 6 — the lowest of any state that sets a minimum. The paper excerpted a statement from DA Deberry that read in full:
“I support any change that gets children out of criminal court. The criminal legal system is complex and designed to hold adults accountable for adult actions. That presumes a level of competence and understanding that children do not possess. A six-year-old cannot comprehend what is taking place in court, but probably will never forget being labeled a delinquent.
Young people who come in contact with the courts are more likely to return as adults, and racial bias can infect decisions about which young people are pulled into this system. For example, studies show that Black children are often wrongly perceived as older than they are and less innocent than their white peers.
For these reasons, our Juvenile Team does not accept court referrals for school offenses, except for rare, violent crimes, and makes a secondary review of all the cases they receive in an effort to divert young people from court whenever possible and connect them with resources instead.”
