New details on pending release of 3,500 people from NC prison system New details issued on pending release of 3,500 people from NC prison system By Jon Evans | February 26, 2021 at 4:40 PM EST - Updated February 26 at 7:09 PM RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) - North Carolinaâs Department of Public Safety has agreed to release at least 3,500 people in state custody within the next six months to settle a lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations. The state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and American Civil Liberties Union argued that conditions at state prisons amid the coronavirus pandemic were unconstitutional. According to the DPS dashboard, the number of offenders that have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic reached 9,632 as of February 26. Of the 47 offenders that have died, four deaths happened at the Pender Correctional Institution and two occurred at Tabor Correctional Institution.