Charles McNeair, pictured at the Davidson Correctional Center in March 2023.

Two weeks ago, we wrote about Charles McNeair, who was arrested at 16 for allegedly breaking into the home of a 57-year-old white woman and raping her in November 1979.

McNeair maintained his innocence but pleaded guilty to second-degree rape because he feared he would get the death penalty if convicted at trial. He received a life sentence with the possibility of parole; he remains behind bars.  […]

Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.

Jeffrey Billman is a politics and law reporter for The Assembly. The former editor-in-chief of INDY in Durham, he holds a master's degree in public policy analysis from the University of Central Florida.