The Prison Resources Repurposing Act.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 625

Short Title: The Prison Resources Repurposing Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Dew and Logan (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 2, 2025
*H625-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO EXPAND THE MUTUAL AGREEMENT PA ROLE PROGRAM TO ALLO W 2
FOR THE PAROLE OF INMATES SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT 3
PAROLE. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 6
Article to read: 7
"Article 85C. 8
"Parole Eligibility for Defendants Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Without Parole Under the 9
Mutual Agreement Parole Program. 10
"§ 15A-1380.6. Applicability. 11
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, inmates serving life imprisonment without 12
parole may be eligible for release pursuant to this Article under the Department of Adult 13
Correction's Mutual Agreement Parole Program (MAPP) after serving a minimum of 20 years ' 14
imprisonment and complying with mandatory educational, vocational, and work requirements. 15
"§ 15A-1380.7. Conditions of eligibility. 16
(a) Assessment. – Inmates serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole shall 17
be assessed during the first five years of that sentence before becoming eligible for the Mutual 18
Agreement Parole Program (MAPP). During this assessment, the Department of Adult 19
Correction shall evaluate the inmate's behavioral, educational, and occupational needs. 20
After an inmate has completed the first five years of the inmate's sentence, the inmate may 21
be offered a 15-year MA PP contract . The contract shall take into account the assessment 22
performed during the first five years of the inmate's sentence. 23
(b) Mandatory Education. – After the completion of subsection (a) of this section, an 24
inmate participating in MAPP shall participate in mandatory education programs. The programs 25
shall include, at a minimum, the following: 26
(1) A General Education Diploma (GED) if the inmate does not already possess 27
a GED or high school diploma. 28
(2) A vocational trade program offered by the Department of Adult Correction. 29
The mandate to complete the education programs in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this 30
subsection may be satisfied by the inmate's completion of an accredited associate or bachelor's 31
degree program. 32
(c) Mandatory Work Requirement. – After the completion of subsections (a) and (b) of 33
this section, an inmate participating in MAPP shall work for Correction Enterprises, the Inmate 34
Construction Program, or any commensurate incentive wage occupation provided by the 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 625-First Edition
Department of Adult Correction . An inmate shall maintain favorable employer evaluations to 1
earn a promotion, and an inmate's work assignments may be transferred to minimum custody or 2
work release upon promotion. 3
"§ 15A-1380.8. Incidents of parole. 4
(a) Access to Parole. – Except as otherwise provided in this section, an inmate sentenced 5
to life imprisonment without parole shall be subject to the conditions and procedures set forth in 6
Article 85 of this Chapter, including the notification requirement in G.S. 15A-1371(b)(3), after 7
completion of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of G.S. 15A-1380.7. 8
(b) Term of Parole. – The term of parole for an inmate released pursuant to this Article 9
from imprisonment from a sentence of life imprisonment without parole shall be five years and 10
may be terminated earlier by the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission. 11
(c) Parole Violation. – An inmate sentenced to life imprisonment without parole who is 12
paroled pursuant to this Article and who then violates a condition of parole and is returned to 13
prison to serve the life sentence shall not be eligible for parole for five years from the date of the 14
return to imprisonment. 15
(d) Life Imprisonment Without Parole. – Under this Article, if an inmate sentenced to life 16
imprisonment without parole does not earn parole by compl ying with subsections (a), (b), and 17
(c) of G.S. 15A-1380.7, the inmate shall remain imprisoned for the inmate's natural life. 18
"§ 15A-1380.9. Retroactive application. 19
(a) Retroactive Parole Eligibil ity. – An inmate sentenced to life imprisonment without 20
parole who has already served 20 or more years in prison by August 1, 202 5, and who has 21
completed some or most of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of G.S. 15A-1380.7 prior to that date 22
shall be eligible for a modified Mutual Agreement Parole Program contract of one to three years. 23
(b) Post-Release Supervision. – Upon release pursuant to this section, inmates shall serve 24
a period of five years of post-release supervision in compliance with G.S. 15A-1380.8." 25
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective August 1, 2025, and applies retroactively 26
and prospectively to those persons serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. 27