Safe & Humane Jails Project
The goal of the Safe and Humane Jails Project is to ensure that those incarcerated in all 109 of the county jails across North Carolina are housed in safe and humane conditions and that their constitutional rights are protected.
The Jails Team fulfills its mission in several ways:
Due to our limited resources, we are only able to assist those incarcerated in a North Carolina jail with issues relating to their confinement. We cannot assist with other civil issues, such as family law matters or civil disputes with those outside the jail facility. However, we do have packets geared toward other services that we can send to help incarcerated people advocate for themselves.
Civil rights cases are difficult to prove. Strong cases are those where the misconduct is severe, resulted in substantial and documented harm, affected large numbers of people, or reflects a demonstrated pattern or behavior over time.
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Investigation is often required before deciding whether a case is one that is likely to result in a successful lawsuit. Cases are investigated over the course of months, or sometimes a year or more, before we have enough information to determine whether we can pursue the case further. If, after an investigation, we are unable to represent you, we will explain in a detailed letter the obstacles that make a detainee’s case unlikely to be successful in court. We will also provide materials to explain how they can file a lawsuit on their own, should they want to do so.
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In some cases, after a thorough investigation, we will agree to file complaints on a client’s behalf and litigate their case through settlement, trial, or dismissal. We represent clients in both state and federal court.
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For those we cannot represent, we will offer guidance and resources in writing. In some circumstances, we will contact jail staff to try to resolve the issue informally.
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Through the letters we receive, we keep track of broader issues routinely occurring at specific jails and determine how we can best advocate for those issues to be addressed, resulting in positive change.
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Conditions of Confinement
Confiscated Legal Materials
Failure to Protect
Deficient Medical/Mental Health Care Claims
Religious Claims
Sexual Assault
Use of Force
Wrongful Death
Jail Credit Review
Our team also reviews cases where a person who has been convicted in North Carolina believes they did not receive all of the jail credit they were due when they were sentenced. Ensuring jail credit is correctly applied protects our clients from spending any time incarcerated beyond their sentence.
If a person has at least 9 months left on their sentence, they can write to us and request we review the jail credit they were awarded when they were convicted. If we determine they are missing jail credit, we work with the court system to correct the error on the judgment.
If a person has less than 9 months left on their sentence, they can still write to us to request we send information explaining how jail credit is applied so they can contact the clerk’s office directly to try to obtain their missing credit.
Contact us
Due to the large volume of requests for assistance we receive every day, the Safe and Humane Jails Project is unable to respond to case applications or inquiries by email or over the phone. All case submissions and follow-up correspondence are done by mail.
If you would like us to review a case that falls into one of the categories listed above, please write to us.
Mail: