Former North Carolina governor and current Democrat Senate candidate Roy Cooper claimed that people “were very frustrated” that his administration did not release more prisoners.
CNN’s Manu Raju asked Cooper if he had “regrets” about the way he and his administration handled a “court-ordered settlement” between “civil rights groups to reduce the prison population during the COVID-era.”
“The centerpiece of the Republican campaign against you is this settlement deal that you reached about the prisoner release, roughly 3,500 prisoners were released early. When you look back at the way that was handled by you and your administration, do you have any regrets by the way you handled that?” Raju asked.
“This is something that the state had to do, because the court ordered it,” Cooper responded. “And, I think a lot of people believe, if you ask the plaintiffs, they were very frustrated that more weren’t released. ”
WATCH — Former RNC Chairman: Roy Cooper Is “the Worst Governor in the History of North Carolina”:
Cooper’s comments came after reporting from Raju noted how North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley “has centered his attacks on Cooper’s record on crime” and has criticized Cooper over the court-ordered settlement.
Breitbart News’s Matt Mercer reported that “in 2021, Cooper and far-left groups announced a settlement agreement releasing a total of 3,500 convicted criminals from state prison.” Cooper has also been described as having “offered numerous excuses for releasing violent criminals from prison”:
In 2021, Cooper and far-left groups announced a settlement agreement releasing a total of 3,500 convicted criminals from state prison. When Cooper’s settlement was announced, prison officials said only convicts with sentences ending in 2021 would be released. That declaration misled a state legislative committee, forcing officials to correct them at the time, indicating violent offenders would be released.
The list of specific offenders was shielded at the time and only released when it was confirmed that DeCarlos Brown, the man accused of murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail system, was on the list.
Cooper has offered numerous excuses for releasing violent criminals from prison.
“This was something that we wanted to do to make sure we worked to protect the public,” Cooper explained to Raju. “Public safety officers made decisions about this — they followed the lead of President Trump’s team. President Trump released 13,000 prisoners, at least, during this COVID-era. He signed a bill to do that.”
Cooper went on to accuse Republicans of “lying about all of these cases that they’re trying to connect to this,” and stated that he was “the one who has actually prosecuted violent criminals and put them behind bars.”
Breitbart News also reported that Cooper, during a campaign appearance in August, “lied to reporters when asked about his soft-on-crime record.”
While serving “as governor, Cooper vetoed legislation requiring cooperation with ICE detainers, increasing penalties for rioting, and allowing more juvenile crimes to move into the justice system,” Breitbart News noted.
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