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William Michael Dillon spent nearly 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. In 2008, DNA testing proved that he was innocent and he was set free. Dillon, also a musician, sings about his trials and tribulations in his first album, “Black Robes and Lawyers,” released this month.

How many lawyers does it take to make good music? Well, if you’re talking about the North Carolina band Instruments of Justice, the answer is a lot. They’re the house band for the law firm Poyner Spruill LLP, and they’re up to 13 members – enough to make up their own jury with an alternate. Host Frank Stasio gets treated to an in-studio performance and talks to the band about life as music-making attorneys.

Towns along the western edge of Pamlico Sound are preparing for storm surge when Hurricane Irene hits.

" Not surprisingly, storm surge is worst when the wind is blowing water right at you. That makes the exact track of Irene so important. If the center of the storm tracks directly over Pamlico Sound, towns like New Bern and Swansboro could be in for significant surge."

Rick Luettich is the director of the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Science in Morehead City.

An experimental flood forecasting system will get a test with Hurricane Irene. Scientists have been experimenting with computer models since Hurricane Floyd produced heavier than expected flooding in 1999. The models are designed to predict how fresh water stream flow, ocean tides, and storm surge will interact. Suzanne VanCooten is a research hydro-meteorologist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. She says one thing that's different this year from the lead-up to Hurricane Floyd is that many eastern North Carolina counties have been in a drought.

The American Red Cross is moving equipment and personnel into place to help people who may be affected by Hurricane Irene. Timm Heisey with the Red Cross says 45 emergency response vehicles are being staged in Raleigh. He says many Triangle residents signed up to be volunteers after the April tornadoes.

State officials are once again urging residents of eastern North Carolina to prepare for Hurricane Irene. Forecasters say the storm is likely to pass directly over the Outer Banks Saturday evening as a Category 3 hurricane. Governor Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency for all counties east of I-95 this morning. Perdue says federal agencies are now ready to respond to potential storm damage.

Last month, a Charlotte jury awarded $10 million to the family of a teenager who died after a police officer used a Taser on him. Hundreds of people have died over the last decade in similar situations involving police and Taser use. Opponents of the electroshock devices say they've led to an epidemic of police brutality; police say they're effective tools that reduce injuries and deaths caused by more traditional weapons. Host Frank Stasio discusses Tasers, policing, and civil liberties with Sam Walker, an emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and author of several books on policing and accountability; Katy Parker, Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina; Darrel Stephens, former chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; and David Cole, law professor at Georgetown University and author of "Less Safe, Less Free: Why We Are Losing the War on Terrorism." (The New Press/2007).

Traditional calendar schools across North Carolina start today. It’s an especially anxious day at Walnut Creek Elementary in Wake County. That school is opening its doors for the first time – the first new elementary school to open in ten years with a large majority of students who are both high-poverty and low-achieving.

The roster of laid-off State Employees continues to grow.   A new center has opened to specifically help them get back on their feet.

Margaret Jordan is spokeswoman for the Office of State Personnel.  She says this is the first time the state has needed to open its own Career Transition Center.

Evacuations are underway on Ocracoke Island ahead of Hurricane Irene. Lucy Wallace is spokeswoman for the Ocracoke Ferry Office.