DURHAM, N.C. -- Her name is Satana Deberry. She's the newly-elected District Attorney for Durham County after defeating incumbent Roger Echols in last year's election.

• Satana Deberry is the new Durham County DA.
• She defeated the incumbent DA, Roger Echols. 

Deberry, 49, is a mother of three with more than twenty years of practicing law although she's never prosecuted a case. Nevertheless, she's moving forward with her agenda to rework the criminal justice system.

The first order of business is proposing to change the pre-trial release policy. She doesn't want non-dangerous suspects to stay in jail because they can't afford bond while waiting for trial.

“Jail is a violent place and we do not want to detain people who should not be detained,” she said in a sit-down interview with Spectrum News.

Deberry is also working to take it easy on low-level, non-violent misdemeanor offenders by helping them.

“We still want to hold them accountable and we want to have them diverted to community resources that can identify their needs and make sure that they're getting their needs met as opposed to being prosecuted,” she adds.

The chief prosecutor is still pouring through cases she inherited. Nearly 100 homicides have yet to go to trial.

“The families of those victims have been waiting years for resolution.”

But don't be surprised if you see in her in snazzy sneakers instead of dress shoes in court. She admits she has bad knees, plus it lets people know she thinks outside the box!