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APRIL 4-10, 2018 UCW 9
In the wake of the mass shooting
in Parkland, Florida, there have been
reports of alleged threats against high
schools in Cumberland County.
Some of those cases are currently
processing through the Cumberland
County court system.
The consequences of a guilty verdict
go beyond the potential criminal
penalties, according to Cumberland
County district attorney Billy West,
and should give anyone, especially
young people, serious pause if they are
thinking about even joking about do-
ing something similar.
"I think the most important thing
for young people to understand is it's a
felony under North Carolina law to do
that,'' West said. "There are a lot of nega-
tive consequences of a felony conviction,
particularly for a young person.''
West said making a threat against
a school would qualify as an H felony,
which is the second-lowest felony
conviction possible in North Carolina.
Someone convicted of an H felony, with
no prior criminal record, could face up
to six to eight months in jail, West said.
But jail time is only part of the
problem for someone convicted of
any felony, West added. "A lot of felo-
nies have what we call collateral con-
sequences,'' he said. Those penalties
go beyond having to pay court costs
and fines and eventually working
with a probation offer.
"You hear stories about people who
had these felonies,'' West said. "They
can't get the job they want. They can't
live where they want. They can't go to
school. It can be all because of a bad
decision they made at a young age.''
In some cases, convicted felons
can take part in an expungement
clinic like the one recently offered
by Cumberland County. But even in
those instances, West said candidates
have to wait up to 10 years and must be
convicted of a minor felony to even be
eligible to have the penalty expunged
from their record.
West said law enforcement, the
school system and his office are taking
any type of threat against a school
seriously. "We have to do that in this
day and time,'' he said.
School shootings are no joke
by EARL VAUGHAN JR.
NEWS
The consequences of a guilty verdict go beyond the potential criminal penalties.
EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff
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