Roy Cooper said reports of deaths in state mental hospitals should be made public.
During a taping of "Headline Saturday," the state attorney general was asked about the heavy redactions of reports by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
"We believe, and have advised the department, those death notices should be open," he said. "We know there are significant problems with our mental health system. ... I do believe that, overall, the most important thing is erring on the side of public disclosure."
Thursday evening, a spokeswoman said Cooper had misspoken about the details of what the office had advised DHHS officials.
"The attorney general believed that department attorneys had advised that death records should be open but determined this afternoon that this was not the case," said Noelle Talley in a statement.
She said he is working with legislators to change the law so that they can be open. (N&O)
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