In a virtual forum Tuesday, Satana Deberry said North Carolinians need an attorney general who “believes in democracy” and is willing to fight for it in court — values that are especially pertinent as the state faces lawsuits over Senate redistricting and a voter ID law passed by the legislature earlier this year.
“The law matters in our everyday lives,” Deberry said. “It matters in our voting, it matters in our health care, it matters for our public safety. And we are at risk when we don’t have an attorney who is experienced in law, and able to lead other attorneys in protecting the rights of North Carolinians.”
Deberry is running for attorney general as a Democrat, facing Fayetteville lawyer Tim Dunn, Duplin County attorney Charles M. Ingram and U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson. The current attorney general, Josh Stein, is running for governor.
Republicans haven’t won a race for attorney general since 1897. U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop is hoping to make history with a win in 2024.
If elected next November, Deberry would be the first Black woman to ever win statewide office in North Carolina.
Deberry is currently the district attorney of Durham County. A former defense attorney, Deberry is a progressive prosecutor who does not see long prison sentences as the only way to address crime. Deberry’s office also utilizes restorative justice — programs that center the voices of crime victims and the broader community, allowing perpetrators of violence to acknowledge the harm they have caused and make amends. Such programs are not limited only to low-level crimes; Deberry’s office even uses restorative justice in violent felony cases, making their approach unique in the South, according to this story in The Guardian.
“I have shown here in Durham County that we can have public safety while still running a fair and just criminal justice system,” Deberry said Tuesday.
Deberry isn’t the only member of the justice system to offer restorative justice programs. North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction also has a “victim-offender dialogue program” that it used at Orange Correctional Center earlier this year and plans to expand throughout the entire prison system.
If she wins the race, Deberry wouldn’t be quite so involved in local criminal justice matters, since North Carolina’s attorney general does not prosecute individual crimes unless a local district attorney makes a request. But there would still be ample space for a progressive attorney general to make an impact, as attorneys general handle all criminal appeals in state trial courts and can file lawsuits on behalf of the state in matters involving public interest.
On Tuesday, Deberry touted her experience as general counsel for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she said she served vulnerable state residents to acquire and afford health care, a notable background given Republicans’ abortion ban passed earlier this year. She also talked about her time running the North Carolina Housing Coalition and her position as a consumer advocate for the banking industry.
“So I understand the consumer issues, the health care issues, and the criminal justice and public safety issues that are facing North Carolinians,” Deberry said. “And we need an experienced attorney general not only for those issues, but also because democracy is at stake here.”
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