Hannah Critchfield

We see a sign that reads, "Tu Voz Importa," posted on the grass along a road in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 13.

Will North Carolina’s jailed voters be represented in this election?

October 30, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield Leave a Comment

Will North Carolina’s jailed voters be represented in this election? - North Carolina Health News

An estimated 128,000 people cycle through North Carolina jails each year. How many will vote in the swing state’s upcoming election?

By Hannah Critchfield As the election looms next week, record-breaking numbers of voters have already cast their ballots in the battleground state of North Carolina. One in three North Carolinians has already voted. Of these approximately 4 million voters, according to state data, and as of Thursday evening, more than 881,000 of them cast absentee […]

We see a paper death certificate, the envelope it came in, and the squiggly handwriting of the certifier, laid against a wood-paneled floor.

N.C. officials report thousands deaths from COVID-19. How do we know that’s true?

October 28, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield Leave a Comment

N.C. officials report thousands deaths from COVID-19. How do we know that’s true? - North Carolina Health News

Here’s how official cause-of-death documents are completed in North Carolina.

By Hannah Critchfield The coronavirus pandemic has required everyday Americans to vet a lot of public health information quickly. The sources they trust play a large role in shaping their beliefs about — and their response to — COVID-19. Studies show Americans are sharply divided along partisan lines about the severity of the virus. Nearly […]

shows the plan of this state prison complex, spread out over several acres, with building plans evident

‘Somebody dropped the ball:’ Deaths in prisons continued, even as NC COVID cases stabilized

October 21, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield 2 Comments

‘Somebody dropped the ball:’ Deaths in prisons continued, even as NC COVID cases stabilized - North Carolina Health News

Why have a third of all NC’s prison deaths happened in the last month?

Content warning: The following article contains a potentially disturbing photo of a person who has died, as he appeared at the funeral home after succumbing to COVID-19. North Carolina Health News, after conversations among our editorial team and the family of the individual, is choosing to publish this photo at the request of his daughter, […]

We see letter from Kenneth Little, an inmate at Greene Correctional Institution, which is currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.

Just as prison family visits were to resume, COVID strikes facility again

October 8, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Just as prison family visits were to resume, COVID strikes facility again - North Carolina Health News

As county cases rise following Labor Day weekend, it’s prisoners [and their families] who have borne some of the brunt. Seven incarcerated people have died in less than a month.

By Hannah Critchfield UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect that an inmate at Greene Correctional died of COVID-19 on October 7. He is the first person to die of the virus at the facility, and was hospitalized on September 24, two days before testing positive. A week before visitations were slated to reopen […]

We see Zion Lemelle's manicured hands holding up a "You Can Vote" eligibility checklist card.

Getting out the vote in jail, during a pandemic

October 5, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Getting out the vote in jail, during a pandemic - North Carolina Health News

How do you safely ensure incarcerated people’s right to vote during a pandemic?

By Hannah Critchfield In the autumn of a normal election year, Zion Lemelle would gather the requisite voter registration forms and absentee ballot requests and don her orange “You Can Vote” t-shirt. Then she would head into a room full of inmates inside the Mecklenburg County jail, North Carolina’s largest. Of course, this year is […]

Shows an arm in a short sleeved shirt, a pair of gloved hands with on holding the arm, the other a syringe and needle, preparing to give a vaccine

Researchers wanted to recruit people most impacted by COVID-19 in vaccine trials. How is it going?

October 1, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Researchers wanted to recruit people most impacted by COVID-19 in vaccine trials. How is it going? - North Carolina Health News

The effort to include those most impacted by the virus is an uphill battle given minority populations' mistrust and barriers to participation in the process. How is UNC's vaccine study combatting those challenges?

By Hannah Critchfield Last week, Noshima Darden-Tabb logged onto Facebook for an informal research study. “I was just doing my own little mini-research. I’d been out talking to people all day, and I was seeing a trend,” the 53-year-old said. “So I asked a handful of people online: Would they participate in a vaccine research […]

Why is NC delayed in reporting COVID-19 death data? It’s about death certificates.

September 18, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Why is NC delayed in reporting COVID-19 death data? It’s about death certificates. - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina is one of just three states to still use a paper-based system for its official death documents. Because of it, the state lags in its official COVID-19 deaths reporting.

By Hannah Critchfield How many people have died of COVID-19 in North Carolina? Consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, and you’ll get one answer. Ask the state’s health department, you’ll get a death count of almost 1,000 more people. Why the discrepancy? The CDC data relies on each […]

Door to a unit inside a jail. Jail suicides and overdoses are on the rise across the state. The counties may not have enough resources to fight COVID-19.

COVID outbreak worsens at Pitt County Jail

September 11, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

COVID outbreak worsens at Pitt County Jail - North Carolina Health News

“Make bond, because y’all can’t breathe like George Floyd”: Situation worsens at local jail outbreak, inmates say they’re not being tested and were told to post bail if they want to escape COVID-19.

By Hannah Critchfield Travis and his fiancée don’t talk much anymore. It’s not that he doesn’t call — it’s that he’s often gasping for air. Travis, who has not yet been convicted of a crime and request NC Health News only use his first name, is awaiting trial for drug possession and assault charges inside […]

Over 120 COVID-19 cases at North Carolina’s only immigration detention facility

September 9, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Over 120 COVID-19 cases at North Carolina’s only immigration detention facility - North Carolina Health News

One transferred migrant dead, over 120 people have fallen ill amid continued transfers, arrests, and opaque testing practices. A look at Alamance County Detention Center’s emerging pandemic legacy.

By Hannah Critchfield Nehel Gaya’s father has traveled so much during the pandemic, she’s having trouble keeping up. The South Carolina resident had received calls from Georgia, Texas, Louisiana — whatever immigrant detention facility her father, a Pakistani citizen, happened to be transferred to next. Well into the pandemic, one of those places was a […]

a fence is in the foreground, with a dozen men in jumpsuits beyond it, they're sitting on benches and seveal are playing basketball. More inmates with mental illness find themselves in solitary confinement following the 2017 deaths of prison officers in NC.

Should COVID-19 vaccine testing be done on prisoners? Some researchers say we should ask them.

September 4, 2020 by Hannah Critchfield

Should COVID-19 vaccine testing be done on prisoners? Some researchers say we should ask them. - North Carolina Health News

Is it time to reconsider restrictions on using prisoners in medical experiments? Some experts say we should ask incarcerated people themselves.

By Hannah Critchfield As the COVID-19 infection toll inside United States prisons and jails reaches 100,000, some researchers are wondering if it’s time to reconsider bans on using prisoners in medical trials, such as the vaccine trials currently underway across the country. Though often in the center of the discussion of a contentious topic, prisoners […]

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