CHARLOTTE, Sept. 29, 2025
What This Was
A House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held an official field hearing on violent crime in a federal courtroom in uptown Charlotte. The chair authorized a recess at any time and named additional members who were permitted to participate in questioning for five minutes each: Mr. Klein, Ms. Lee, Mr. Fry, Mr. Knott, Mr. Harris, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. Moore, Mr. Norman, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Rauser, Mr. McDonald, Mr. Kiley, Ms. Ross, and Ms. Adams. You can watch the hearing on YouTube.
The witness roster included victims’ family members, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer injured in the line of duty, current and former prosecutors, a bail representative, and a crime-data analyst.
Scene and Tone
Chair Jeff Van Drew opened with a blunt assessment:
“It’s unacceptable. We’re tired of it. We’re sick of it. It’s sickening.”
Ranking Member Deborah Ross offered condolences and a caution:
“I… hope that we will take to heart her family’s request not to remember her by her last moments or politicize her death.”
Theme One: Grief and Delay
Mia Alderman, grandmother of Mary Santina Collins, described repeated postponements and bond violations in her granddaughter’s case:
“Five years is not justice. Five years is torment.”
Steve Federico, whose daughter Logan was killed in South Carolina, spoke about repeat offenders:
“Arrested 39 goddamn times, 25 felonies.”
Officer Justin Campbell described injuries from a mass-warrant service operation:
His injuries “led to the amputation of my right foot,” and the local “judicial system… is trash.”
Theme Two: Bail and Accountability
Bail representative Michael Woody argued for secured bail and stricter consequences in pretrial decisions, calling a recent fatal case “a preventable tragedy enabled by… policies that prioritize offender convenience over public safety.”
Former federal and state prosecutor Dina King tied personal stories to staffing and capacity, urging more resources for prevention and victim services:
Mecklenburg “should have at least 144 state prosecutors… Instead, we have 62 [state] and 22 [local],” and “We cannot arrest or prosecute our way out of violent crime.”
Theme Three: The Numbers Debate
Crime-data analyst Jeff Asher testified that murder “fell at the fastest rate ever recorded” in 2023 and 2024 and is “down 20% nationally through July [2025],” while some members questioned whether national trends reflect local experience. Exchanges centered on definitions, reporting practices, and timeliness of data.
Procedure and Record
Field hearings are formal proceedings away from Washington with modified logistics but the same core rules: witness lists, time limits, and a record preserved by the committee. Testimony from this session is part of the official record. A video of the full proceeding is available to the public. Watch on YouTube.
What Happens Next
- Whether justice-system leaders address staffing ratios and victim-services needs raised in testimony.
- Whether court administrators revisit pretrial practices and magistrate guidance in light of repeat-offender concerns.
- Whether agencies publish a Charlotte-specific brief that reconciles local perception with current trend lines.
About the Author
Jack Beckett drinks coffee like it is a civic duty. When the cold brew kicks in, he writes faster than a quorum call. Start on the homepage, then browse the latest at News and the civic desk at Politics. Special coverage runs through the election hub, Poll Dance 2025, packed with candidate dossiers, key dates, and plain-English explainers. Message the newsroom on X (or Twitter, or as we call it, Twix) any time.
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© 2025 The Charlotte Mercury / Strolling Ballantyne
This article, “House Judiciary Field Hearing in Charlotte Highlights Clash Over Bail, Backlogs, and Crime Data,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
“House Judiciary Field Hearing in Charlotte Highlights Clash Over Bail, Backlogs, and Crime Data”
by Jack Beckett, The Charlotte Mercury (CC BY-ND 4.0)