Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Name(Required)
Email(Required)
Address(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Committed to ending the death penalty and creating a new vision of justice

  • Who We Are
    • Mission & History
    • Our Values
    • People Most Proximate
    • Coalition Members
    • Staff, Board, & Advisory Council
    • Our Funders
  • What We Do
  • Why End the Death Penalty?
    • Column 1
      • Racism
      • Innocence
      • Intellectual Disability & Mental Illness
    • Column 2
      • Public Safety
      • High Cost of Death
      • Waning Support
    • Column 3
      • Lethal Injection
      • Antiquated Sentences
      • Unfair Trials
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Commutations Campaign
  • Get Involved
  • Donate

Search NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Press Release: House Bill 270 increases harm to corrections staff and furthers risk to public safety

April 29, 2025

Lynda and John Simmons march past the NC legislative building

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2025

Contact: Noel Nickle, (828) 775-9912

RALEIGH — Today, the Judiciary 2 House Standing Committee will consider a new bill, HB 270, which would alter current law by adding electrocution and firing squad as authorized methods of execution alongside lethal injection. The harmful impact of executions on prison staff is well documented, and includes serious mental health symptoms such as insomnia, panic attacks, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder. HB 270 would only cause further harm to corrections officers by requiring them to carry out brutal execution methods.

There are 121 people on North Carolina’s death row, but the last time an execution occurred was in 2006. Executions are on hold while the courts decide how to apply the NC Racial Justice Act to all death sentences. A ruling issued in February 2025 found there was race discrimination in a capital case. That decision under the Racial Justice Act is now on appeal.

“House Bill 270 does nothing to improve public safety, and it increases harm to those tasked with carrying out executions,” said Noel Nickle, Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. “It forces our already overburdened state employees to carry out executions using violent methods we know will be extraordinarily damaging to their mental health.”

Holly Sox understands the devastating impact of executions on prison staff all too well. Her father, Jerry Flake, worked as the night shift nursing supervisor for the South Carolina Department of Corrections and participated in  24 executions from 1985 to 2000. “Memories of executions haunted my father. He suffered nightmares, some so intense he would thrash about and fall from the bed,” said Sox. “People tend to only consider the life of the defendant and the victims, but they fail to consider the impact that executions have on staff and their family members. My father was never the same after participating in executions. I know he would oppose this bill.”

We also know more today than we ever have about the death penalty’s flaws. There is zero valid evidence that it deters crime. In fact, states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states that retain it. The death penalty costs NC taxpayers millions annually, while doing nothing to reduce crime or increase public safety.

Rather than expand the available methods of execution, North Carolina must invest in programs that will decrease violent crime and increase support for victim services that bring about healing. “Expanding methods of execution does nothing to help me heal from the murder of my son, Brian,” said Alleghany County resident Lynda Simmons. “In fact, I believe the death penalty perpetuates violence. I would rather see my tax dollars used for much needed services for victims’ families.”

###

The N.C. Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NCCADP.org) is a grassroots collective of 23 partner organizations committed to ending the death penalty and creating a new vision of justice in North Carolina. Contact Noel Nickle at noel@nccadp.org or (828) 775-9912.

Filed Under: Blog, Lethal Injection

Footer

Contact

NCCADP Alternate Logo
NCCADP
3326 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
Building D, Suite 201
Durham, NC 27707
noel@nccadp.org
919-404-7409

Follow Us on Instagram

Two men were executed today. Gregory Hunt in Alaba Two men were executed today. Gregory Hunt in Alabama. Anthony Wainwright in Florida. The death penalty took two lives and left no justice.
Leaning in and listening well. Our Director of C Leaning in and listening well. 

Our Director of Communications reflects on their first weeks with NCCADP and the quiet, powerful urgency of this work. 

Read the new blog post at the link in our bio.

#endthedeathpenalty #nomoredeathrow #abolitionnow
LGBTQIA+ people, especially Black and Brown trans LGBTQIA+ people, especially Black and Brown trans people, have long been targeted by systems of state violence. From Stonewall to Raleigh, the fight for freedom begins and ends with abolition. 

As we celebrate Pride, we remember: the struggle for queer liberation is deeply connected to the fight to end the death penalty. 

📸: State Archives of North Carolina

#prideisprotest #abolitionisliberation #endthedeathpenalty #queerliberation #nccadp #pridemonth #pride #nomoredeathrow
Follow on Instagram

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design

Notifications