A black woman faces prison for a voting mistake. Prosecutors just doubled the charges

[demmiblue]

A North Carolina prosecutor accused of using a racist law to prosecute an African American woman for voter fraud has now doubled the charges against her, the Guardian has learned.

The case involves Lanisha Bratcher, a 32-year-old woman who voted in 2016 while on probation for a felony assault charge (North Carolina prohibits those on felony probation from voting), as the Guardian reported in December. Bratcher says she had no idea she was ineligible to vote, but the district attorney in Hoke county, where Bratcher voted, decided to charge her with a class I felony for voting while serving a criminal sentence. She faced up to 19 months in prison.

The case has been pending since late last year and Bratcher has since begun working at a beauty store and is expecting her third child in December. But in early June, the district attorney’s office brought new charges against Bratcher. Prosecutors told her attorney they intended to dismiss the original charge against her, but provided two new grand jury indictments against Bratcher under a different provision of the same law that makes it a felony to knowingly swear a false statement in an election.
A black woman faces prison because of a Jim Crow-era plan to ‘protect white voters’
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It’s a small tweak that allowed the district attorney to double the charges against Bratcher, who was arrested last year but is out on bond. She was initially just charged with a single felony for illegal voting, but because Bratcher swore she was eligible to vote on both her voter registration and early voting form, the district attorney is now pursuing charges on two felony counts. She now faces a maximum of 19 months in prison for each count, her attorney said, though a judge could sentence her to less or probation of she is convicted.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/21/voting-arrest-racist-law-north-carolina-lanisha-brachter?CMP=twt_a-world_b-gdnworld

[kacekwl]

1. What bullshit.

I hope a good lawyer comes her way. You know the kind that are defending all the republicans who have actually committed fraud lately.

[DFW]

2. I hate it when some prosecutors use their power to get revenge for losing the Civil War n/t

[unc70]

3. Super RW part of NC

DA is an elected office. This year there is not even a Dem candidate. That is unusual not to field a candidate.

[JI7]

4. and this is what we mean by institutional racism