Evidence Preservation in North Carolina
State statute requires the automatic preservation of biological evidence for convictions resulting in a sentence of death (until execution), a sentence of life without parole (until the death of the convicted person), or any homicide, sex offense, assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson or burning, for which a Class B1-E felony punishment is imposed (during the period of incarceration and mandatory supervised release, including sex offender registration). When convicted on a plea of guilty, evidence must be preserved for three years from the date of conviction or until released, whichever is earlier. Any biological evidence collected as part of a criminal investigation of any homicide or rape, in which no charges are filed, must also be preserved for the period of time that the crime remains unsolved. Effective: 2001; Amended most recently: 2013.
North Carolina’s statute meets the best practices standards outlined by the NIST Technical Working Group on Biological Evidence Preservation.