Cooper Ads Misrepresent Inmate Releases | Raleigh News

0:00It's September 2nd. I'm Cory with the story, and this is Raleigh News today, your AI-powered local news. Political ads are hitting former North Carolina governor, Roy Cooperhard, linking him to inmate releases during the COVID-19 pandemic and then tying those releases to unrelated murders. The ads, funded by the Senate Leadership Fund, feature grieving fathers whose children were killed, implying Cooper's actions directly led to these. Tragedies, however, the facts show a different story. The settlement that led to the release of 3,500 inmates was part of a civil rights lawsuit aimed at reducing COVID-19 risks in prisons. This agreement reached in February 2021 had no connection to the specific cases of the victims featured in the ads. One father, Ronald Hayes, whose son was murdered, stated his words were twisted and he never intended to suggest his son's killer was among those. Released, he believed he was participating in an anti-gun violence initiative. The other father, Stephen Federico, whose daughter was killed,

1:03feels the ad fairly represents the consequences of what he calls soft on crime, policies. Officials have confirmed that the individuals accused in these murders were not released as part of the 2021 settlement. One suspect had no record of imprisonment in North Carolina, and the other was not in jail at the time of the settlement. Despite the claims in the ads, the evidence shows the inmate releases were a response to a public health crisis, not a direct cause of the specific homicides. The Senate leadership fund, however, plans to continue its campaign, emphasizing their narrative of Cooper's record on crime.