NC law will allow minors information to be released to the public

SCOTLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW) — A new North Carolina law will allow law enforcement to release information about minors to the public.

The law comes after a juvenile murdered two North Carolina teens and ran from authorities. House Bill 186, also known as the Lyric and Devins Law, will allow law enforcement to release the names, photos, and offenses of criminals who are 18 and younger.

The law was signed by Governor Roy Cooper last month. It will allow law enforcement to release information if the minor is accused of one or more offenses that could appear in superior court, a judge determines the suspect is a danger to themselves or others, or if the judge finds “good cause.”

Detective Corey Wilson, with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office said the 2017 change of the juvenile age limit from 17 to 18 has been a concern for law enforcement in the state.

“The juvenile age has now been raised to 18 years or younger,” Wilson said. “So there’s a lot of juveniles that commit felony crimes, heinous crimes. We’ve got juveniles that commit murders particular crimes that are very very detrimental to our society.”

The new law was named after two North Carolina teens, Lyric Woods and Devin Clark, who were murdered by a 17-year-old. The 17-year-old’s information was not released to the public and law enforcement searched for several weeks before finding him in Delaware.

“That helps us because if this juvenile flees to another state,” Wilson said. “If this juvenile flees to another jurisdiction. One in particular case, this particular juvenile that was involved in this case was actually located in Robeson County. Due to the fact that there was no information that had been released, this juvenile was able to not be detained there in Robeson County.”

The law will take effect on December 1st.