Q.  When was the committee established?
A.  The Citizens Parole Accountability Committee was established in 1994 as a part of a five-year Safety Plan adopted by the Charlotte City Council and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police department. Part of the Safety Plan include affecting the review process of the North Carolina Parole Commission and preventing violent or career criminals from obtaining early parole. Charlotte City Council established the Citizens Parole Accountability Committee to review cases of inmates being considered for early parole and to impact the parole process when appropriate.

Q.  How many members are on the Citizens Parole Accountability Committee?
A.  There are currently nine members on the Citizens' Parole Accountability Committee.

Q.  When and where does the committee meet?
A.  The Citizens Parole Accountability Committee meets the first thursday of each month at 7:00 PM in Room CH-18 located in the Government Center.

Q.  Are the meetings open to the public?
A.  In accordance to the North Carolina Open Meeting Laws, the Citizens' Parole Accountability meetings are open to the public.

Q.  How can I be involved with the Citizens Parole Accountability Committee?
A.  The most important way you can assist the Citizens Parole Accountability Committee is by writing letters to the North Carolina Parole Commission protesting the early release of inmates listed on this webpage on a monthly basis.

Q.  What kind of cases does the Citizens Parole Accountability Committee review on a monthly basis?
A.  The committee reviews high profile cases of violent and/or career criminals that were sentenced under the Fair Sentencing Act and would be released to Mecklenburg County if given early parole.

Q.  Does the Parole Commission notify victims when an inmate comes up for a review?
A.  State law requires that the Parole Commission notify any victim who has submitted a written request to be notified of a pending investigation or decisions in an inmate’s case. The Parole Commission makes an attempt to locate and contact any victim of an assaultive crime.The Citizen’s Parole Accountability Committee also makes every attempt to locate and contact the victim and/or victim’s family for the cases that they review on a monthly basis to advise them of upcoming parole review dates.

NOTE: If you are the victim and/or the family member of the victim of a violent crime, please contact the Parole Commission and the District Attorney’s Office that prosecuted the inmate to inform them of your new address and phone if you have recently moved. This will ensure that you will be notified if an inmate comes up for parole review.What factors does the Parole Commission consider when review an inmate for possible parole?

Each inmate’s case is reviewed on an individual basis since it has its own individual characteristics. According to the North Carolina Parole Commission, some of the factors that are taken into consideration during the parole process are as follows:

• Nature and circumstances of the crime
• Previous criminal record
• Prison conduct
• Input from court officials
• Input from victim and/or other interested parties

Q.  Why do inmates serve such a small amount of time when their sentences are long?
A.  Inmates whose crimes were committed before 01 October ’94 are sentenced under the Fair Sentencing Act which gives inmates the opportunities to earn time off their sentence through several different programs. Most inmates sentenced under the Fair Sentencing Act earn the largest quantity of time off their sentence through a crediting process called Good Time.

Good Time offers inmates one day of time credit for each day that they serve in prison. This usually cuts an inmates time in half. For example, an inmate serving a sentence of twenty years for Second-Degree murder could be paroled only after serving less than ten years.

Q.  What about inmates sentenced after 01 October ’94?
A.  Inmates sentenced on or after 01 October’94 are sentenced under the Structured Sentencing Act. The Structured Sentencing Act requires the Department of Corrections to determine a release date and mandates that inmates serve either at least 100% of the minimum sentence and/or 85% of the maximum sentence.

The Parole Commission has no decision making power as to the inmate’s time of release. In essence, parole was eliminated under the Structured Sentencing Act.