Mar 30, 2022
Governor Roy Cooper issues proclamation supporting men and women returning from prison
"WHEREAS, a great majority of the incarcerated individuals in North Carolina will eventually return to communities across the state," and thus begins the official proclamation issued by NC Governor Roy Cooper on March 30, 2022, declaring the month of April as "Second Chance Month." The declaration goes on to stress the importance of the efforts to combat recidivism by "policy makers, reentry professionals, and volunteers" to "help reduce the stigma of incarceration."
While the declaration is merely symbolic, it demonstrates how the tide is turning from a strictly punitive approach to corrections to one that also recognizes the need to help communities welcome home the formerly incarcerated. Political leaders from both parties across the state now understand that helping the formerly incarcerated return to society has broad benefits for everyone, and that one way we can reduce recidivism, and the crimes and victims that lead to it, is to eliminate barriers that prevent a newly released prisoner from integrating back into freedom.
OurJourney applauds the governor and pledges to join him and all those across this state who want to back words with action.
