Press Releases

An offender participating in Extending the Limits of Confinement (ELC) who absconded from her approved residence in Concord earlier this month has been located in Mint Hill. Tiffany Kirby (#1263001) was serving active sentences for Habitual Felon, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Felony Breaking and Entering and Felony Larceny After Breaking and Entering. She had a projected release date of Sept. 23, 2021. She now faces escape charges.
The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Claudette Edwards as the new warden of the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh. Edwards had been the interim warden at the prison since August 2020.
The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice is actively seeking an offender serving a portion of her active sentence outside of prison who has absconded from her residential location in Concord. The offender was participating in the Extending the Limits of Confinement (ELC) initiative.
A Franklin Correctional Center offender with pre-existing medical conditions, who tested positive for COVID-19, has died at a hospital. “We are continuing our extensive efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons. The health and safety of the staff and the offender population is our top priority,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “I urge the staff and offenders to be vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. It’s important.”
A Franklin Correctional Center offender who tested positive for COVID-19 has died at a hospital. “We are working hard in our ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons. The health and safety of the staff and the offenders is our top priority,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “They all should choose to be vaccinated as soon as vaccine is available. It’s very important.” The offender tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 7. He was hospitalized on Feb. 17. His condition worsened, and he died on March 12.
Offender Rashaun Mason (#1054504) died March 11, 2021 at Bertie Correctional Institution after an apparent suicide. He was found unresponsive in a housing area at 1:20 p.m. Prison medical staff and local paramedics responded and worked to resuscitate the offender. He was pronounced dead at 1:38 p.m. at the facility. DPS officials and the Windsor Police Department are conducting investigations.
The N.C. Department of Public Safety has settled a lawsuit over hepatitis C, reaffirming the Department’s commitment to the health of offenders in state prisons. The settlement, approved today in U.S. District Court, calls for state prisons to:
Beginning today, eligible members of the public can make appointments online for a vaccine at the federally supported COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center in Greensboro at Four Seasons Town Centre Appointments can be made online by visiting GSOmassvax.org   Appointments may be scheduled by phone beginning Monday. Additional appointments will become available on Monday through our call center for those who are not able to access the web-based registration tool.
A Southern Correctional Institution offender with pre-existing medical conditions, who tested positive for COVID-19, has died at a hospital. “We are continuing our extensive efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons. The health and safety of the staff and the offender population is our top priority,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “I urge the staff and offenders to be vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. It’s important.”
The Governor’s Crime Commission’s first quarter meeting will be held virtually on Thursday, March 4 from 9 - 11:15 a.m. Please see the information below to attend this public meeting.