Michael Hewlett
@blackmuse.bsky.social
Reporter for The Assembly NC, covering criminal justice issues, movie enthusiast, music obsessor, pop culture consumer and poetry lover.
Pinned
Was This High-Ranking Black Marine Wrongfully Convicted?
Ruben Wright was a high-ranking Black Marine before a 2006 murder conviction. His lawyers say a main theory presented at trial has collapsed.
www.theassemblync.com
Prosecutors Made a Rare Concession in a Murder Case. But Will It Matter? www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
Inside Durham's Dependency Court www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
Inside Durham's Dependency Court
A civil rights group’s lawsuit against Durham’s secretive child welfare court intends to shed light on proceedings which terminate parental rights.
www.theassemblync.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Inside Durham's Dependency Court www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
The Politics of an Arrest www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
The Politics of an Arrest
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page’s oversight of his jail has become a key issue in his primary campaign against GOP Senate leader Phil Berger.
www.theassemblync.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
The Politics of an Arrest www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:50 PM
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening. www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening.
The U.S. Supreme Court has forbidden using gender to remove potential jurors, but N.C. appellate courts have done little to enforce that.
www.theassemblync.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:05 PM
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening. www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening. www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening.
The U.S. Supreme Court has forbidden using gender to remove potential jurors, but N.C. appellate courts have done little to enforce that.
www.theassemblync.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
It’s Illegal to Use Gender in Jury Selection. That Hasn’t Stopped it From Happening. www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
When Trump Says Jump www.theassemblync.com/politics/tru...
When Trump Says Jump
The White House has ordered red states to redraw congressional districts. North Carolina Republicans have been happy to oblige.
www.theassemblync.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:28 PM
When Trump Says Jump www.theassemblync.com/politics/tru...
A Revived Death Penalty? www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
A Revived Death Penalty?
Republican state legislators hope a new crime law will restart the death penalty. Legal experts say it won’t be that easy.
www.theassemblync.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:48 PM
A Revived Death Penalty? www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
A Revived Death Penalty? www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
A Revived Death Penalty?
Republican state legislators hope a new crime law will restart the death penalty. Legal experts say it won’t be that easy.
www.theassemblync.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:59 PM
A Revived Death Penalty? www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration
The N.C. Court of Appeals has seemingly made it official that the men convicted as teenagers of killing NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather are exonerated.
www.theassemblync.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration
The N.C. Court of Appeals has seemingly made it official that the men convicted as teenagers of killing NBA star Chris Paul’s grandfather are exonerated.
www.theassemblync.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Appeals Court Affirms Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
WRAL-TV Fights to Succeed in a New Media World www.theassemblync.com/media/wral-t...
WRAL-TV Fights to Succeed in a New Media World
WRAL confronts a precarious future as locally owned television stations deal with declining viewership and advertising revenue.
www.theassemblync.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:33 AM
WRAL-TV Fights to Succeed in a New Media World www.theassemblync.com/media/wral-t...
Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene www.theassemblync.com/environment/...
Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene
A ProPublica and Assembly analysis of the more rural counties Helene pummeled found households that got the most aid had higher incomes.
www.theassemblync.com
September 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene www.theassemblync.com/environment/...
The North Carolinians who lost their jobs for posting about Charlie Kirk
open.substack.com/pub/downfrom...
open.substack.com/pub/downfrom...
The North Carolinians who lost their jobs for posting about Charlie Kirk
Welcome back to Down from DC.
open.substack.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
The North Carolinians who lost their jobs for posting about Charlie Kirk
open.substack.com/pub/downfrom...
open.substack.com/pub/downfrom...
My latest: State Trooper Sued Over Alleged Assault www.theassemblync.com/politics/law...
State Trooper Sued Over Alleged Assault
The lawsuit alleges the trooper punched a man who had crashed into a utility pole in Greenville and was having an epileptic seizure.
www.theassemblync.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:29 PM
My latest: State Trooper Sued Over Alleged Assault www.theassemblync.com/politics/law...
A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath www.theassemblync.com/politics/cha...
A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath
Republicans have made a political cudgel of Iryna Zarutska’s killing. A draft crime bill expected this week may be more posturing than solutions.
www.theassemblync.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:57 PM
A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath www.theassemblync.com/politics/cha...
Scoop from @jeffreybillman.bsky.social and me: A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath www.theassemblync.com/politics/cha...
A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath
Republicans have made a political cudgel of Iryna Zarutska’s killing. A draft crime bill expected this week may be more posturing than solutions.
www.theassemblync.com
September 21, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Scoop from @jeffreybillman.bsky.social and me: A Fatal Stabbing and Its Aftermath www.theassemblync.com/politics/cha...
The Aftermath of an Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
The Aftermath of an Exoneration
NBA star Chris Paul talked about his grandfather this week. He didn’t talk about the exoneration of the teens charged with killing him.
www.theassemblync.com
September 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The Aftermath of an Exoneration www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Hemp on Trial www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Hemp on Trial
The state Supreme Court has three cases pending to determine whether the marijuana 'smell test' is valid grounds for a police search.
www.theassemblync.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Hemp on Trial www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Private Prison in Eastern N.C. May Reopen for Immigration Detention www.theassemblync.com/immigration/...
Private Prison in Eastern N.C. May Reopen for Immigration Detention
Rivers Correctional Institution closed in 2021. Now its owners are in talks about reopening it to hold immigrants awaiting deportation.
www.theassemblync.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Private Prison in Eastern N.C. May Reopen for Immigration Detention www.theassemblync.com/immigration/...
My latest: Odor in the Court www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Odor in the Court
Police still use odor to justify searches, even though legal hemp and illegal marijuana smell the same. The state Supreme Court now weighs in.
www.theassemblync.com
September 8, 2025 at 12:54 PM
My latest: Odor in the Court www.theassemblync.com/politics/cou...
Pitt County Residents Rally Around a Native Son www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
Pitt County Residents Rally Around a Native Son
Two men wrongfully convicted of violent crimes came to support James Richardson's effort to overturn his conviction in a 2009 double murder.
www.theassemblync.com
September 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Pitt County Residents Rally Around a Native Son www.theassemblync.com/politics/cri...
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
How a Top Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission Into North Korea Fell Apart www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...