North Carolina
North Carolina Joins an Effort To Improve Outcomes for Freed Prisoners – Chapelboro.com
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON
North Carolina has joined a nascent nationwide effort to improve outcomes for more prisoners who return to society through an approach focused on education, health care and housing.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed an executive order Monday that seeks to reduce recidivism through formal training and workforce tools for incarcerated people so more can succeed once they are freed.
More than 18,000 people are released annually from the dozens of North Carolina adult correctional facilities, the order says, facing obstacles to a fresh start from their criminal record.
“Every person deserves the opportunity to live a life of joy, success and love even when we make mistakes,” Cooper said at an Executive Mansion ceremony. “Every single one of us can be redeemed.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, seated, shows an executive order directing state government agencies to boost efforts at successful prisoner reentry that he signed at a ceremony at the Executive Mansion in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)
The order aligns with the goals of Reentry 2030, which is being developed by the Council of State Governments and other groups to promote successful offender integration. The council said that North Carolina is the third state to officially join Reentry 2030, after Missouri and Alabama.
North Carolina has set challenging numerical goals while joining Reentry 2030, such as increasing the number of high school and post-secondary degrees or skills credentials earned by incarcerated people by 75% by 2030. And the number of employers formally willing to employ ex-offenders would increase by 30%.
“This is the perfect time for this order, as employers really need workers for the record numbers of jobs that are now being created in our state,” the governor said. “Our state’s correctional facilities are a hidden source of talent.”
The executive order also directs a “whole-of-government” approach, in which Cabinet departments and other state agencies collaborate toward meeting these goals. For example, the state Transportation Department is directed to help provide the Department of Adult Correction information so that incarcerated people can learn how to get driver’s licenses and identification upon their release.
Cooper’s order also tells the Department of Health and Human Services to create ways to prescreen prisoners for federal and state health and welfare benefits before they are freed, and look into whether some Medicaid services can be offered before their release.
The order “charts a new path for us to collaborate with all state agencies to address the needs of justice-involved people in every space,” Adult Correction Secretary Todd Ishee said in a news release.
The governor said there is already funding in place to cover many of the efforts, including new access to Pell Grants for prisoners to pursue post-secondary education designed for them to land jobs once released. But he said he anticipated going to the Republican-controlled General Assembly for assistance to accelerate the initiatives.
Republican legislators have in the past supported other prisoner reentry efforts, particularly creating mechanisms for ex-offenders to remove nonviolent convictions from their records.
Cooper and other ceremony speakers touched on the spiritual aspects of prisoner reentry.
NASCAR team owner and former Super Bowl champion coach Joe Gibbs talked about a program within the “Game Plan for Life” nonprofit he started that helps long-term prisoners get a four-year bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry so they can counsel fellow inmates.
And Greg Singleton, a continuing-education dean at Central Carolina Community College in Sanford, is himself an ex-offender, having served four years in prison in the 1990s. The college has educational opportunities inside the state prison and county jail in Sanford. Plans are ahead to expand such assistance to jails in adjoining counties.
“What if God didn’t give second chances — where would any of us be?” Singleton asked. “Oh, but thank God he did, thank God he did.”
Related
The North Carolina Tar Heels will be a young program across the board next season, with well over two dozen freshmen and numerous additions from the transfer portal this offseason. Expectations for the 2026 season are lowered dramatically after a disastrous first season for head coach Bill Belichick, though those expectations could help the Tar Heels fly under the radar.
As the Tar Heels approach the end of spring ball, it is time to look at the veterans of the team—the ones who have the experience to lead, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Let’s look at three underrated seniors for the 2026 football season.
Ade Willie, Cornerback
Willie joins the Tar Heels program after four years with Michigan State, as the former 4-star player in the 2022 recruiting class gets an opportunity to not only provide depth to the secondary, but potentially start Week 0 against TCU.
Willie played in over 30 games with the Spartans and brings experience in the secondary at cornerback and safety, along with quality length and closing speed to the football. For a defense that needs players to step up, the redshirt senior from IMG Academy will be asked to do so.
Isaiah Johnson, Defensive Lineman
The defensive line is beginning to look like one of the Tar Heels’ strengths for the 2026 season. Johnson, a former transfer from Arizona, enters his redshirt senior year looking to add another year of production after 40 tackles and two sacks this past season.
North Carolina has an impressive group of starters with Malkart Abou-Jaoude, Leroy Jackson, and incoming transfer Jaylen Harvey. Johnson adds value to the group as a run defender with the ability to penetrate the pocket. While not discussed as a key player, Johnson’s name will be used plenty during the regular season as a potential standout for the program’s defensive front.
Coleman Bryson, Safety
Bryson was a reserve player for the Tar Heels’ secondary last season as a big nickel defender in the rotation. Heading into his redshirt senior year, the former Minnesota Gopher is looking to become a full-time starter in the secondary.
It wasn’t long ago when Bryson was making plays as the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl Defensive MVP. His special teams abilities were valuable for North Carolina last season, and he flashed at times in coverage against tight ends, including a pass breakup in the season-opener against TCU. The Waynesville, North Carolina, native could be a key defender on the back-seven in 2026.
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Friends and family members gathered in Washington state on Saturday, remembering former Miss North Carolina Carrie Everett, who died on Easter Sunday. Another memorial service is planned in North Carolina next month.
Web Editor : Sydney Ross
Posted
Virginia 3, North Carolina 0 | First Quarter
Virginia 3, North Carolina 0 | Q1 8:19
After a faceoff win by Henry Metz, Brendan Millon finds Truitt Sunderland to give the Hoos a 3-0 lead. Timeout North Carolina.
Virginia 2, North Carolina 0 | Q1 9:00
Brendan Millon gets the scoring started for the Cavaliers with a question mark style goal. On the defensive end, Jake Marek opens the game with three early saves with his third save setting up a transition goal by Tommy Snyder.
Virginia vs North Carolina pregame notes
UVA owns a 59-33 advantage since the series began in 1938.
The 59 wins are UVA’s most against any opponent in program history (followed by 51 against Duke).
In Chapel Hill last year, the Tar Heels defeated the Cavaliers 18-9, snapping UVA’s six-game series win streak.
UVA has won nine of the last 11 meetings, dating back to 2018.
The Hoos have won the last two meetings with Carolina at Klöckner Stadium, 11-4 in 2022 and 14-6 in 2024.
The Tar Heels’ four goals in 2022 marked the fewest goals in a game under Joe Breschi, who was named UNC’s head coach in 2006.
The last time the Tar Heels knocked off the Cavaliers at Klöckner was a 16-13 decision during the first of three games between the two teams in 2021.
Later that year, UVA claimed back-to-back meetings against the Heels, including in the NCAA semifinals on the way to capturing the 2021 national title over Maryland.
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