INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. – A crime victim in North Carolina is sharing how she would like the state’s next attorney general to handle crime and punishment.

Democrat Jeff Jackson and Republican Dan Bishop, both members of the U.S. House of Representatives, are vying to be the state’s next top law enforcement officer.

Bishop said he’s running a “law and order” campaign that’s focused on crime and safety.

What You Need To Know

  • Crime was down 3% nationally in 2023, according to the FBI
  • Statewide, North Carolina is seeing similar trends. But in larger cities, including Charlotte and Raleigh, crime rates are up
  • Clydia Davis, whose son was murdered in 2019, wants the state’s next attorney general to be tougher on crime

Recent numbers from the FBI show overall crime was down across the country in 2023. Those same statistics show a similar trend in North Carolina.

But North Carolina’s two largest cities, Charlotte and Raleigh, report the opposite.

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For example, so far in 2024, Charlotte police report 6% increase in violent crime.

Clydia Davis’ son, Donqwavias, was murdered at an apartment complex near UNC Charlotte in 2019.

Davis said her son wanted to play professional football.

“That was his dream since he was 8 years old,” Davis said.

Donqwavias Davis was shot and killed a day after the 2019 mass shooting at UNC Charlotte. He was on campus attending a vigil, and afterward he walked over to a nearby apartment complex where he was shot.

His mom said she got the call, raced to the hospital and learned that her son had died.

“I remember the doctor telling me how strong he was and how hard he tried to fight,” Davis said. “And it was just a blur.”

Davis is one of many crime victims in North Carolina.

The suspect in her son’s murder is still in jail and is awaiting a jury trial.

Davis said she’s learned not all convicted murderers serve a full sentence, and many receive bail and parole.

“How is there a possibility that he can get out of jail, when there’s video proof that he killed my child?” Davis said.

Davis spends most of her time advocating against bonds and plea deals for anyone who has taken another’s life. She said steeper penalties for convicted killers would help deter crime.

“It’s just like parenting your own children,” Davis said. “You can’t keep enabling them. If you don’t punish them, they’re going to keep doing the same thing.”

She also wants the state’s next attorney general to make it a priority to end nearly two decades of legal wrangling and help restart capital punishment.

“You murder someone, you ended their lives,” Davis said. “But the judicial system would say they deserve a second chance, but they didn’t give their victim the first chance to live their life.”

While statewide crime numbers are moving in the right direction, Davis wants the next attorney general to be tougher on crime.

“To live right, to live responsibly. That’s right thing to do,” Davis said. “To kill people and don’t do the time for it. That’s the wrong thing to do. To let them go, that’s the wrong thing to do.”