On the 54th episode of our Nooze Hounds podcast, we spoke to defense attorney Tim Emry, founder of The Emry Law Firm, PLLC and candidate for Mecklenburg County District Attorney.
In the podcast, Tim Emry describes his personal road to a racial reckoning while witnessing how discriminatory and unjust the American justice system is. He also discusses how he came to the decision to run for district attorney, following the example of other progressive prosecutors around the country and here in North Carolina.
We also chat about co-host Ryan Pitkin’s recent news feature on the state of the Mecklenburg Couny jail following a report from NC DHHS that calls on the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to bring the population of detainees from 1,407 to less than 1,000. Beginning in March 2020, Tim Emry was part of a movement called Decarcerate Meck that called for depopulation and more safety measures in the jail.
In our recent feature, Emry says of the current situation in the jail, “The concern with staff shortages and low staff morale centers around safety, both for the people who are locked up and the people working inside the jail. If staff feels unsupported or without adequate assistance, they may start going it on their own, not following protocol or best practices. If this happens and they become assaultive or aggressive to the people who are locked up, I would imagine it could get very ugly.”
“Being incarcerated is traumatic and stressful enough, even when conditions are normal,” he continued. “In the situation we have now: pandemic, lockdowns due to exposure and infection, staff shortages, it can escalate quickly and threaten the safety and security of all parties.”
Remember you can catch us on Spotify and other places where you find podcasts, and be sure to check out Queen City Podcast Network for a slew of other great Charlotte podcasts that aren’t quite as good as ours but pretty damn close. Find past Nooze Hounds episodes here.
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