Christopher Hickman’s period of supervised probation for the 2017 assault of Johnnie Rush might have ended this month if not for delays in the community engagement portion of his restorative justice plea deal. COVID-19, as well as other obligations for the Raleigh-based program director, disrupted the yearlong schedule and will lead to an extension of Hickman’s probation.
“An officer’s failure to report a partner’s crimes should be a crime itself — to be criminally punished and require permanent forfeiture of an officer’s certification.”
Over the past month, local criminal justice officials have collaborated to reduce the number of people held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility by nearly 40%. Those efforts are aimed at helping limit the potential spread of COVID-19 among incarcerated people and community members.
Buncombe County District Attorney provided a statement via Twitter on the Aug. 9 guilty plea of former Asheville Police Officer Christopher Hickman in the Aug. 25, 2017, beating of Asheville resident Johnnie Rush.
“It might surprise you to know that North Carolina still has the sixth-largest death row population in the nation — 140 men and women — and that Buncombe County has the fourth-largest death row population in our state’s 100 counties — seven.”
