A MOdel For Change

 A Model for Change! 

If you want to be remembered after you’re dead, write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about. 

—Benjamin Franklin 

While on quarantine fighting a bout with Covid-19. I silently asked the Lord: what could I do to help bring about positive effective change within this prison context? The Lord placed on my heart, provided the wisdom, and vision for me to draft good public legislation for non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners entitled “North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act.”  

My name is Dwayne Haizlip # 0161397. I am presently incarcerated in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) serving a lengthy sentence for non-violent convictions. I am also a 43-year-old African American male from Greensboro North Carolina, the father of one child, and one of the Christian faith leaders at Nash Correction facility. 

In 2018, I was chosen into the North Carolina Field Ministry Program (NCFMP) by NCDPS lead officials. At this present moment, I am in my junior year of a Bachelors of Arts in Pastoral Ministry with secondary emphasis on counseling and psychology, 3.9. G.P.A., offered by Southeastern Baptists Theological Seminary (SEBTS) at Nash Correctional facility.  

The NCFMP is primarily sponsored by NFL super bowl winning coach and Nascar team owner Mr. Joe Gibbs Game Plan for Life (GPL) organization. To learn more about the NCFMP visit GPL website. 

The NCFMP was created by GPL, SEBTS, and the NCDPS organizations as a moral rehabilitation program that aims to educate handpicked inmates with lengthy sentences to help bring about positive effective change within the North Carolina prison system.  

Criminal Justice and Prison Reform has been a hot topic throughout this nation for a very long time. However, there is always dialogue amongst North Carolina lawmakers about how to reduce the state’s prison population while still keeping the public safe. The “North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act” (ACT) that is located hereafter provides a safe and cost effective way to achieve this goal.  

Additionally, let’s not forget about events that transpired in the summer of 2020. Millions of people in this country took to the streets in protest for issues like Criminal Justice and Prison Reform. It is a must that North Carolina revamp its prison system. As a matter of fact, President Joe Biden has pledged to create a twenty-billion-dollar incentive based program for the states to eliminate mandatory minimums for non-violent crimes. This is great. However, North Carolina lawmakers could go ahead and beat our president to the punch by sponsoring and enacting into law the ACT that is found hereafter. To learn more about this ACT, see the document positioned after this one. 

This ACT is Great for Our State Because: 

#1, This ACT only release prisoners serving active lengthy sentence(s) for non-violent principle felony(s) and conviction(s); the prisoner(s) must have served at lease fifty percent of their minimum sentence(s); nor is there a victim or any type of dangerous weapon involved in the conviction(s) they are presently incarcerated for. The prisoner(s) must have completed a number of different rehabilitative programs, have a suitable home plan in place, and have not had no infractions over the last forty-eight months. Generally, when a prisoner remain infraction free and dedicate themselves to complete rehabilitation programs, they have made up their mind to think positive, follow the rules, and be a productive citizen in society. There are thousands of non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners who fit this description, and should immediately be released from the North Carolina prison system; 

#2, Each non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner could have a multitude of years left on their sentence(s). By releasing eligible non-violent prisoners who has been rehabilitated, and who no longer pose a threat to the public, saves North Carolina taxpayers about $100.00 per day that they would have had to jolt out to keep each non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner in confinement. Consequently, saving North Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars. Similarly, it cost about $5 per day to feed just one hungry person in this state. The amount of money North Carolina taxpayers continue shelling out daily (c. $100.00) to keep just one non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner in this state prison system could be used to feed about twenty hungry citizens in this state, and that is on a daily basis. When the two are compared and contrasted, it makes sense to release rehabilitated prisoners, then shift the money it takes to keep them confined over into more important areas. Such as: Covid-19 relief, schools, road repairs, feeding the hungry, and upgrading marginalized communities in this state;  

#3, Any non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner that is released under this ACT will be closely monitored for about $5 per day on Post Release Supervision for the duration of time left on their sentence(s). This method saves the taxpayers money; at the same time, it holds each prisoner that is released accountable to abide by the laws of this state. Furthermore, this ACT is not a mechanism to release just anyone from prison. It is solely based on releasing prisoners who has demonstrated character change through the rehabilitation process set in place by prison programs. Granted, the prison system is a tool that keeps the public safe and it corrects individuals who have broken law(s). Once both goals are met, the incarcerated should be released back into society, even if their release is by early means. Moreover, the purpose of the prison system was not designed for men and women to just languish and rot away in. Restorative justice coordinator Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz points out, “The purpose of the law is to bring the person [incarcerated] back into the fold [of society,] to heal.”1 A non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner can only begin the mending process by being released back into society with their family members and loved ones, attaining gainful employment, and paying taxes. (Emphasis added).  

This ACT Is a Win for All the Citizens of North Carolina. 

A bill is proposed law and may be drafted by any competent person. However, it must be sponsored by a North Carolina lawmaker. The rhetorical question posed here is: Will one, or some of our elected lawmakers sponsor this ACT, then begin the process of getting it enacted as Session Law? The North Carolina lawmakers are stakeholders in this conversation. They have been entrusted with the cosmic duty to help best serve the citizens of this state through safe and cost effective ways. Years from now you could be the remembered as the lawmaker who took the bold stance to help make this state better by sponsoring good public legislation which reduce North Carolina’s non-violent prison population, help unite families, and save its taxpayers an enormous financial burden that they would have had to pay to continue keeping non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners incarcerated. It is time for change. The time is now. Continuing to keep non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners incarcerated is an injustice against any eligible prisoner that is worthy of release under this ACT, their family members and loved ones, and the taxpayers of this state! 

Please read, support, share, and encourage our North Carolina lawmakers to sponsor the ACT that is found hereafter at: Phone numbers: (919) 733-7928, (919) 733-4111; Emails: Tim.Moore@ ncleg.gov; Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov. 

There will be additional draft(s) coming soon for other propose changes in N.C. post-conviction laws. Stay tuned in. If you want to know more about the criminal justice reform, and prison reform drafting initiatives that I am working on please write to me at: 

Dwayne Haizlip # 0161397 

Nash Correction Facility 

P.O. Box 247 

Phoenix, MD 21131 

A Model for Change!

If you want to be remembered after you’re dead, write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.

—Benjamin Franklin

While on quarantine fighting a bout with Covid-19. I silently asked the Lord: what could I do to help bring about positive effective change within this prison context? The Lord placed on my heart, provided the wisdom, and vision for me to draft good public legislation for non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners entitled “North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act.” 

My name is Dwayne Haizlip # 0161397. I am presently incarcerated in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) serving a lengthy sentence for non-violent convictions. I am also a 43-year-old African American male from Greensboro North Carolina, the father of one child, and one of the Christian faith leaders at Nash Correction facility.

In 2018, I was chosen into the North Carolina Field Ministry Program (NCFMP) by NCDPS lead officials. At this present moment, I am in my junior year of a Bachelors of Arts in Pastoral Ministry with secondary emphasis on counseling and psychology, 3.9. G.P.A., offered by Southeastern Baptists Theological Seminary (SEBTS) at Nash Correctional facility. 

The NCFMP is primarily sponsored by NFL super bowl winning coach and Nascar team owner Mr. Joe Gibbs Game Plan for Life (GPL) organization. To learn more about the NCFMP visit GPL website.

The NCFMP was created by GPL, SEBTS, and the NCDPS organizations as a moral rehabilitation program that aims to educate handpicked inmates with lengthy sentences to help bring about positive effective change within the North Carolina prison system. 

Criminal Justice and Prison Reform has been a hot topic throughout this nation for a very long time. However, there is always dialogue amongst North Carolina lawmakers about how to reduce the state’s prison population while still keeping the public safe. The “North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act” (ACT) that is located hereafter provides a safe and cost effective way to achieve this goal. 

Additionally, let’s not forget about events that transpired in the summer of 2020. Millions of people in this country took to the streets in protest for issues like Criminal Justice and Prison Reform. It is a must that North Carolina revamp its prison system. As a matter of fact, President Joe Biden has pledged to create a twenty-billion-dollar incentive based program for the states to eliminate mandatory minimums for non-violent crimes. This is great. However, North Carolina lawmakers could go ahead and beat our president to the punch by sponsoring and enacting into law the ACT that is found hereafter. To learn more about this ACT, see the document positioned after this one.

This ACT is Great for Our State Because:

#1, This ACT only release prisoners serving active lengthy sentence(s) for non-violent principle felony(s) and conviction(s); the prisoner(s) must have served at lease fifty percent of their minimum sentence(s); nor is there a victim or any type of dangerous weapon involved in the conviction(s) they are presently incarcerated for. The prisoner(s) must have completed a number of different rehabilitative programs, have a suitable home plan in place, and have not had no infractions over the last forty-eight months. Generally, when a prisoner remain infraction free and dedicate themselves to complete rehabilitation programs, they have made up their mind to think positive, follow the rules, and be a productive citizen in society. There are thousands of non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners who fit this description, and should immediately be released from the North Carolina prison system;

#2, Each non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner could have a multitude of years left on their sentence(s). By releasing eligible non-violent prisoners who has been rehabilitated, and who no longer pose a threat to the public, saves North Carolina taxpayers about $100.00 per day that they would have had to jolt out to keep each non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner in confinement. Consequently, saving North Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars. Similarly, it cost about $5 per day to feed just one hungry person in this state. The amount of money North Carolina taxpayers continue shelling out daily (c. $100.00) to keep just one non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner in this state prison system could be used to feed about twenty hungry citizens in this state, and that is on a daily basis. When the two are compared and contrasted, it makes sense to release rehabilitated prisoners, then shift the money it takes to keep them confined over into more important areas. Such as: Covid-19 relief, schools, road repairs, feeding the hungry, and upgrading marginalized communities in this state; 

#3, Any non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner that is released under this ACT will be closely monitored for about $5 per day on Post Release Supervision for the duration of time left on their sentence(s). This method saves the taxpayers money; at the same time, it holds each prisoner that is released accountable to abide by the laws of this state. Furthermore, this ACT is not a mechanism to release just anyone from prison. It is solely based on releasing prisoners who has demonstrated character change through the rehabilitation process set in place by prison programs. Granted, the prison system is a tool that keeps the public safe and it corrects individuals who have broken law(s). Once both goals are met, the incarcerated should be released back into society, even if their release is by early means. Moreover, the purpose of the prison system was not designed for men and women to just languish and rot away in. Restorative justice coordinator Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz points out, “The purpose of the law is to bring the person [incarcerated] back into the fold [of society,] to heal.” A non-violent/rehabilitated prisoner can only begin the mending process by being released back into society with their family members and loved ones, attaining gainful employment, and paying taxes. (Emphasis added). 

This ACT Is a Win for All the Citizens of North Carolina.

A bill is proposed law and may be drafted by any competent person. However, it must be sponsored by a North Carolina lawmaker. The rhetorical question posed here is: Will one, or some of our elected lawmakers sponsor this ACT, then begin the process of getting it enacted as Session Law? The North Carolina lawmakers are stakeholders in this conversation. They have been entrusted with the cosmic duty to help best serve the citizens of this state through safe and cost effective ways. Years from now you could be the remembered as the lawmaker who took the bold stance to help make this state better by sponsoring good public legislation which reduce North Carolina’s non-violent prison population, help unite families, and save its taxpayers an enormous financial burden that they would have had to pay to continue keeping non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners incarcerated. It is time for change. The time is now. Continuing to keep non-violent/rehabilitated prisoners incarcerated is an injustice against any eligible prisoner that is worthy of release under this ACT, their family members and loved ones, and the taxpayers of this state!

Please read, support, share, and encourage our North Carolina lawmakers to sponsor the ACT that is found hereafter at: Phone numbers: (919) 733-7928, (919) 733-4111; Emails: Tim.Moore@ ncleg.gov; Phil.Berger@ncleg.gov.

There will be additional draft(s) coming soon for other propose changes in N.C. post-conviction laws. Stay tuned in. If you want to know more about the criminal justice reform, and prison reform drafting initiatives that I am working on please write to me at:

Dwayne Haizlip # 0161397

Scotland Correctional Institution

P.O. Box 247

Phoenix, MD 21131

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2021

_________________________

__________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Short Title:   North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act                                           (Public)_

Sponsors: _____________________________________________________________________

Referred to:____________________________________________________________________

January 25, 2021

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 

AN ACT TO REDUCE THE NORTH CAROLINA PRISON POPULATION FOR NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as “North Carolina Non-Violent Prison Reform Act.”

SECTION 2. (a) Article 84A. of the General Statues is amended by adding a new section to read:

N.C.G.S. 15A-1368.2 Post release supervision eligibility and procedure.

 “(g)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following provision apply except as otherwise provided in this section. 

…

(1)   A prisoner to whom this section applies that is presently serving an active sentence(s) “shall” be released from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety on Post-Release Supervision after serving at lease fifty percent of his or her minimum sentence(s).

(2)  The prisoner “must” presently be serving an active minimum sentence(s) of at least ten years or more Pursuant to Article 81B. STRUCTURED SENTENCING ACT, N.C.G.S. 15A-1340.17 for conviction(s) found under Article 2A HABITUAL FELONS, N.C.G.S. 14-7.1 through 14-7.6. The principle felony(s) that triggered the habitual felon status that the prisoner is presently incarcerated under “must” solely be classified as a non-violent class of offense(s).

(3) Otherwise, the prisoner “must” presently be serving an active minimum sentence(s) of at least ten years or more for conviction(s) and sentence(s) found under Article 5. CONTROLLED SUBSTSNCE ACT, N.C.G.S. 90-95 (h). 

(4)  Any prisoner serving Life Without Parole, Convicted Sex Offenders, and Validated/Affiliated SRG gang members are “ineligible” for release under this section.

(5) Any prisoner that is presently confined in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety “shall” immediately be released to serve the remainder of his or her sentence(s) on Post Release Supervision if “all” of the following criteria are met:

a.  The prisoner “must” presently be serving a minimum sentence(s) of at           least ten years or more and “must” have served at least fifty percent of that minimum 

General Assembly Of North Carolina        Session 2021

sentence(s) imposed under Article 81B. STRUCTURED SENTENCING ACT, N.C.G.S. 15A-1340.17 for non-violent principles offense(s) that triggered the habitual felon status which resulted in conviction(s) found under Article 2A HABITUAL FELONS, N.C.G.S. 14-7.1 through 14-7.6 or Article 5 CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ACT, N.C.G.S. 90-95 (h);

b.  The principle felony(s) that the prisoner is presently convicted for “must” not have a victim in it as defined under N.C.G.S. 15A-830 (a) (7); 

c.  The prisoner did not use violence or credible threat of violence, by use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, in the commission of the offense(s) for which the prisoner is presently serving an active sentence(s) for;

d.  The prisoner no longer poses a threat to public safety;

e.  The prisoner “must” have been infraction free over the duration of the last forty-eight months;

f.  The prisoner “must’ presently be housed in medium or minimum custody

status to be eligible for release under this section;

g. The prisoner “must” have completed at least four of the following programs over the duration of his or her sentence(s). For example, Substance Abuse Treatment: NA/AA or DART, HRD, GED, Living On the Outside, Vocational Training, Thinking for a Change, Anger Management, Career Readiness, and any other programs conducive toward positive rehabilitation;

h.  The prisoner “must” have a suitable home plan with living arrangements conductive toward positive reintegration back within the community. 

i. Upon Release: The prisoner “must” attain suitable employment within six months of release, or continue in educational program(s);

j. The prisoner “must” complete two hundred and fifty hours of community service work within thirty-six months of release;

k. The prisoner “must” abide by “all” conditions of Post Release Supervision Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 15A-1368.4 for the duration of time left on his or her sentence(s);

l. If any prisoner violates the terms of their Post Release Supervision, they “shall” be returned back to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to serve out the remainder of their sentence(s).

m. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety “shall” immediately begin releasing eligible prisoners on Post Release Supervision per last name alphabetize order because:

n. Administering of the prisoner(s) remainder prison term would result in substantial injustice and is not necessary for the protection of the public since the eligible prisoner is a non-violent offender who is now rehabilitated;

o. Immediate release of the eligible non-violent prisoners who are now rehabilitated, and no longer poses a threat to public safety, on Post Release Supervision for about five dollars per day, will relieve the heavy financial burden, for about one hundred dollars per day for each non-violent prisoner, that the North Carolina taxpayers have to pay out to keep the 

General Assembly Of North Carolina        Session 2021

prisoner(s) housed within the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.”

SECTION 2. (b) This act becomes effective on December 31, 2021, and applies to sentence(s) ordered before, on, and after that date.