We dove deep into Devalos Perkins’ purgatory — yet there are still mysteries

The Charlotte Observer spent well over a year investigating the story of Devalos Perkins and the murder of 20 year-old Justin Ervin.

Perkins — the center of the series called “Purgatory” — is being held awaiting trial on a cold case murder, and he has been in legal limbo for more than 10 years due to one word in a now defunct state law.

A four-part series by the Observer included interviews with two devastated Charlotte families discussing the lack of closure they face due to delays in the case.

The series shows how long waits for hospital beds and treatments — some of which aren’t effective for people with anti-social personality disorder, like Perkins — leave defendants languishing in the system for years because they are found incapable of proceeding to trial.

While these defendants wait for hospital beds or to go to trial, local sheriffs and the Department of Adult Corrections are struggling due to limited space and beds to find a way to keep them housed behind bars without contributing to their mental health deteriorating further.

As the reporter on this project, the more I learned about the story the more questions I had. And, unfortunately, I was left with more questions than answers.

One of the most pressing questions: What will happen to Perkins at his next hearing in October?

I hope you take the time to read the series in its entirety and I hope it causes you to ask questions of your own.

What evidence exists?

Perkins was arrested seven years after Ervin’s murder.

Initially, police sought three suspects in the case. Prosecutors later dismissed charges against the first man police arrested. A third man is named in Perkins’ court file as a co-conspirator but it’s unclear whether he was charged.

It is unclear what evidence police and prosecutors have against Perkins — and why the charges didn’t stick against two other men believed to have been there when Ervin was killed.

Ervin’s girlfriend, Shasta Rich, who witnessed and survived the shooting, died last year.

Prosecutors wouldn’t answer the Observer’s questions about whether any DNA evidence exists, and would not discuss how the death of a witness and the retirement of investigators impacts the case.

In producing “Purgatory,” the Observer was unable to locate the main detective on this case, Bill Ward, who has been retired for several years.

At least 19 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police detectives signed the witness list that led to Perkins’ arrest. All but one has retired and that detective was not permitted to comment, according to the department.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Bunting, who is in charge of the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office homicide unit, said in response to questions about whether the nearly 20 years that have passed since the murder will impact the prosecution:

“I can tell you that yes, chances of a successful prosecution generally decrease as a case gets older.”

Perkins has had at least two lawyers during his decade behind bars. Grady Jessup was his first lawyer and he is currently represented by Norman Butler. Both men refused to be interviewed.

How long was Devalos Perkins in solitary?

During his time in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, Perkins has been punched, Tased, and pepper sprayed by guards. He has also flung urine and feces at, and assaulted guards nearly two dozen times.

He’s been placed in a restraint chair that is banned in other states for causing sudden deaths, and has spent a significant amount of time in solitary confinement.

We don’t know how many days in total or how many days at a time Perkins has spent in solitary confinement. To research this, the Observer reviewed hundreds of pages of jail incident logs.

Based on these logs, we know that at one point, he was sentenced to 150 days in confinement as a disciplinary action in 2022.

Studies show that solitary confinement can have detrimental effects on a person’s mental health. One study based out of North Carolina shows it can increase the risk of premature death, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Emory University in Atlanta.

Two leading advocates in the state calling for criminal justice reform wrote an op-ed for the Observer days after the “Purgatory” series published. They decried the use of solitary confinement in his case, and in other cases involving mental health issues in jail.

“North Carolina’s criminal legal system is ill-equipped to provide mental health care in our jails or prisons,” they wrote.

“Limited resources, insufficient staffing and a lack of specialized training contribute to substandard mental health support within this system. Consequently, individuals in county jails who are suspected but not convicted of crimes often do not receive appropriate mental health treatment, thus exacerbating their conditions,” wrote Craig Waleed, a Disability Rights NC project manager for the Unlock the Box Campaign Against Solitary Confinement and Deby Dihoff, interim executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in North Carolina.

Sometimes preceding his days spent in solitary, Perkins was placed in a restraint chair. These chairs have been linked to at least 20 deaths from 2014-2020, according to reporting by the Marshall Project.

Detention center officials have refused to provide the Observer with a restraint chair observation log that would show whether jail staff followed state rules about monitoring inmates like Perkins in the chair.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, who has been outspoken about Perkins’ case in the past, refused to speak with the Observer for this story.

What comes next? Will he be free again?

A judge has the authority to rule Perkins is unlikely to ever have the mental capacity to stand trial. In that case he could be released from jail but the court could still decide to commit him involuntarily to a mental health hospital.

At the time of Perkins’ arrest, state law made it optional for a judge to dismiss charges against a person accused of a felony 10 years from the date they were found incapable to proceed. In 2013, months after Perkins was arrested, the law changed and made this dismissal mandatory — but prosecutors seem to be applying the old law in Perkins’ case.

Over the last decade, he has been evaluated at least nine times — only twice, court records show, was he judged at least temporarily lucid enough to stand trial. Both times, he back-tracked and proceedings were paused again.

According to court records, he has at times refused to take medication or regularly participate in capacity restoration classes.

He has previously told psychologists dating back to 2006 that he has been receiving mental health services since he was a young boy, and has struggled with his mental health since he was a teen, court records show.

However, because he was restored to capacity at least twice for brief windows of time, the prosecution seems to be holding out hope that it can try him eventually.

It’s unclear whether the 10-year limit for defendants deemed incapable to proceed has restarted each time Perkins has been found temporarily mentally-sound for trial. Even the county’s head public defender, Kevin Tully, says he doesn’t know.

On October 13, Perkins has another court hearing that will determine whether he is now capable of standing trial.

It is uncertain at this time if he will return to the jail ahead of his hearing, or if he will remain in safekeeping until he is due in court. Experts say Perkins should stay in safekeeping at Central Prison where he is currently, or in a hospital in order to prevent him from deteriorating in a jail cell ahead of the hearing.

If he makes it and is deemed incapable once again, it is unclear what prosecutors will do next.

Without action, the delay and his purgatory could continue indefinitely.