District Attorney, Prosecutorial District 26 (Mecklenburg County)

Spencer B. Merriweather III has been Mecklenburg County's district attorney since Governor Roy Cooper appointed him in November 2017, and he was elected to the post in 2018². Before that he spent more than a decade as an assistant district attorney in the same office, including as a homicide prosecutor². He is unopposed on the November 2026 ballot¹.

Where they stand 3 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Death penaltyKeep it for the worst murders under current rulesmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • In a 2022 primary debate he said he would keep the death penalty available as an option, while his opponent pledged never to seek it. (2022-04) source
  • His office announced it would seek the death penalty against a defendant charged with first-degree murder in the death of 6-year-old Dominique Moody, the first capital prosecution sought under his leadership. (2026-08) source
• MarijuanaNo single answer fitsmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Announced in November 2020 that, with some exceptions, his office would not accept simple drug possession cases for felony prosecution and would refer them to diversion and treatment, citing a pandemic court backlog and more than 110 pending homicide cases. (2021-01) source
• Mandatory minimumsNo single answer fitsmedium

  Official action · medium confidence

  • Said his office seeks habitual felon indictments for everyone who qualifies, then screens which sentences to enhance, and said most habitual felon unit cases involve violent crimes and that habitual sentences fell at least 20 percent a year under his screening process. (2022-05) source

No public position found on: Policing and crime, Abortion, Election rules, Guns, Immigration, Qualified immunity.