Sen. Murdock files bill in North Carolina Senate to compensate those unlawfully detained

A new bill filed by State Sen. Natalie S. Murdock in the North Carolina Senate aims to provide financial compensation for individuals unlawfully detained by the state or local governments, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 887 on April 28 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Compensation for Wrongfully Detained Persons.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill creates a process for people found by a court to have been unlawfully detained by the state or a local government to seek compensation for financial losses. Claims must be filed with the Industrial Commission within five years of the court’s finding and are separate from existing wrongful incarceration claims under G.S. 148-82. If the commission finds unlawful detention and resulting harm, it must award $50,000 per year of detention, up to $750,000 total, and may also award job training, tuition and fee costs at public North Carolina colleges, and lost wages or benefits, with limits on overlapping lawful detention. The bill appropriates $1 million in one-time funds to the Contingency and Emergency Fund for these payments, effective July 1, 2026, and applies retroactively to detentions occurring on or after Oct. 1, 2021.

Of the two sponsors of this bill, Murdock proposed the most bills (80) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Murdock graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA.

Murdock, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2020 to represent the state’s 20th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Mickey Michaux.