RALEIGH, N.C. – A new North Carolina law will loosen restrictions on how law enforcement agencies identify juveniles suspected in serious crimes.
Lyric and Devin’s Law is part of a broader juvenile justice measure, House Bill 186, that passed the General Assembly and was signed into law this week by Gov. Roy Cooper.
Police agencies will be able to release a juvenile’s name, photo and information about alleged offenses with a judge’s approval if the crime is serious enough or if the suspect is considered dangerous.
The change will help police more quickly find young suspects in serious crimes, Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, said in a news release Friday.
State law has barred law enforcement from releasing identifying information about juveniles in criminal cases without exceptions, Caldwell stated.
“This new law will allow us to show our community that we are doing our jobs to protect them from dangerous individuals,” Sheriff Darren Campbell of Iredell County said in the statement.
The measure was named after Devin Clark, 18, and Lyric Woods, 14, who were found dead with gunshot wounds in a field in Orange County in September 2022. Police began looking for a suspect, then 17, in the killings but could not release identifying information to the public to aid in the search.
The suspect later was found in Delaware and arrested, Caldwell noted in his statement.
HB 186, signed by Cooper on Thursday, includes changes to interrogation procedures for young suspects and to rules for when their cases can be transferred from juvenile court to Superior Court. It takes effect Dec. 1.