Satana Deberry
Democratic · NC · District Attorney, Durham County
Satana Deberry has been Durham County's district attorney since 2019. She stopped prosecuting many low-level drug charges and stopped asking for cash bail in many cases.
Where Satana Deberry stands, based on their records
Supports
Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties (2 records), Women's Reproductive Rights (1 record), Civil Rights (2 records)
Track record
Track record — Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties · 2 support
Reported that her office had launched Post-Arrest Diversion with Durham justice services in 2020 and made 44 referrals by July 2022.
July 26, 2022Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Source: dconc.gov
Implemented a Durham prosecution policy generally avoiding requests for cash bail in nonviolent lower-level cases, while retaining exceptions.
May 28, 2019Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties
Source: newsobserver.com
Track record — Women's Reproductive Rights
Women's Reproductive Rights · 1 support
Joined a Supreme Court amicus brief urging protection of abortion access and opposing criminal penalties for personal reproductive healthcare decisions.
September 20, 2021Supports Women's Reproductive Rights
Source: fairandjustprosecution.org
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 2 support
Told a county criminal-justice committee that her office had stopped prosecuting most school-based offenses except violent cases.
July 26, 2022Supports Civil Rights
Source: dconc.gov
Led an office that cleared about 1,400 old charges for roughly 400 people prosecuted as adults at ages 16 and 17.
December 9, 2021Supports Civil Rights
Source: wunc.org
Track record — General
General · 7 records
Received the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People endorsement for the November district-attorney election.
August 24, 2026
Source: dcabp.org
Received the People’s Alliance PAC endorsement for Durham district attorney.
January 13, 2026
Source: peoplesalliancepac.org
After a dismissed street-takeover charge drew scrutiny, Deberry acknowledged she had checked the wrong criminal-history screen and said she retrained the assistant prosecutor involved.
April 24, 2025
Source: wral.com
A Superior Court judge dismissed charges in a murder case after finding repeated due-process violations by an assistant prosecutor in Deberry’s office; the finding did not accuse Deberry personally.
March 14, 2025
Source: wral.com
County courthouse keycard data published by WRAL showed swipes on roughly half of workdays in several years; Deberry disputed that the swipes measured her work or presence reliably.
February 10, 2025
Source: wral.com
Her office said it reviews firearm-possession-by-felon charges case by case; a public-records email described dismissal of one nonviolent possession case under Deberry’s approach.
December 16, 2024
Source: wral.com
Led the North Carolina Housing Coalition as executive director through June 2018, before a new interim director took over.
June 27, 2018
Source: nchousing.org
Past race Satana Deberry ran in:
- District Attorney District 16 · November 3, 2026 · Durham County, North Carolina · incumbent