What You Need to Know: Cheri Beasley

North Carolina’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Cheri Beasley, has spent her campaign cash amplifying one thing so far: her judicial record. However, what she believes is her strongest asset could also be her biggest vulnerability going into the General Election.

In multiple TV ads, Beasley touts her time on the North Carolina Supreme Court and promises to bring that judicial experience to the Senate if elected.

“In the Senate, I’ll never stop fighting to make North Carolina safe,” Beasley said in her most recent ad.

However, what Beasley fails to mention is the various cases where she bucked the majority opinion of the court and wanted to give “get out of jail free cards” to a convicted murderer, a convicted felon, and a sex offender.

• In State v. Bowden, Beasley wanted to set a man free who was convicted of two counts of first degree murder because of early release credits that he earned while in prison. The majority of the court said no, he couldn’t apply the credits.
   
• In State v. Floyd, Beasley wanted to affirm a reversed verdict for a convicted felon arguing that his attempted assault with a deadly weapon inflicting a serious injury charge “is not a cognizable offense.”
   
• In State v. Packingham, Beasley dissented from a majority opinion which upheld the conviction of a sex offender for breaking state law by using social media. Beasley said the state law violated the sex offender’s First Amendment rights. The majority disagreed and upheld the conviction.

According to recent polling, voters are increasingly worried about crime with 53% saying they worry a “great deal” about the issue. 

Bottom line: If North Carolinians care about keeping criminals off the street, they should go over Beasley’s judicial record with a fine-tooth comb.