Republican leaders of the General Assembly on Monday announced a new subcommittee to investigate a 2021 settlement agreement then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration reached with advocacy groups. The deal allowed for the release of about 3,500 nonviolent offenders to avoid overcrowding in state prisons during the pandemic.
Senate leader Phil Berger and others now say Cooper and Gov. Josh Stein, who was attorney general at the time of the settlement, let violent criminals out of prison early and weren’t transparent about the deal.
“Republicans in the General Assembly are going to hold [Cooper] and Gov. Stein accountable for releasing violent, repeat offenders and endangering our citizens,” Berger said in a statement.
State officials briefed lawmakers at the time of the settlement, and the list wasn’t released publicly until earlier this year since a judge had ordered it sealed.
Jordan Monaghan, a spokesman for Cooper, questioned the motives of the subcommittee and the criticisms leveled against the former governor.
“These blatant lies from Republicans have been fact-checked for months and found to be false,” Monaghan said in a statement. “After Roy fought against these releases in court, North Carolina law enforcement officials and parole officers looked to similar criteria President Trump used a year prior when his administration released thousands of federal prisoners due to COVID-19.”
Perhaps most interesting from the announcement was the list of people Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall chose to serve on the committee.
Three of the four Democrats named to the group—Rep. Lindsey Prather of Buncombe County and Sens. Woodson Bradley of Mecklenburg County and Terence Everitt of Wake County—are up for reelection in competitive districts. In 2024, Bradley and Everitt won their respective races by 0.1 percentage point, while Prather carried her district by less than 3 points.
All three Democrats said they didn’t ask to be assigned to the committee and only learned about it after the public announcement.
“I was surprised to learn I was assigned to the subcommittee but I look forward to discussing ways that the legislature can better support and pay the people who keep our prisons safe, from correctional officers to assistant district attorneys,” Prather said.
Republicans in competitive districts will also serve on the subcommittee, including state Sen. Lisa Barnes of Nash County and Reps. Allen Chesser of Nash County and Mike Schietzelt of Wake County.