A letter to Gov. Cooper from North Carolinians who have lost loved ones to murder

Members of the Homicide Survivor Engagement Group reading their letter aloud outside the Governor’s Mansion on Dec. 10, 2022

As part of the launch of our campaign to persuade Gov. Cooper to commute North Carolina’s death sentences, NCCADP’s Homicide Survivor Engagement Group sent a letter to Gov. Cooper stating their unequivocal opposition to executions. The full letter is below.

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December 6, 2022

The Honorable Roy Cooper
Governor of North Carolina
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Dear Governor Cooper,

Each of us has had a loved one taken from us by homicide. At a moment none of us could have predicted or prepared for, senseless violence took from us children, parents, spouses, siblings and other loved ones. Our direct experiences with the legal system and our struggles with grief have led us all to the same conclusion: The death penalty fails victims’ families.

We reject the premise that the execution of a person, even one who committed murder, could somehow bring us justice or closure. Having suffered the unnecessary, intentional death of a loved one, we don’t wish that fate on other families. An execution can not bring our family members back to life. Instead, it perpetuates the violence.

We believe in the dignity and worth of every person, including those who have committed heinous crimes. We believe in the possibility of redemption for all people. Death sentences do not challenge offenders to take responsibility or transform their lives. Death sentences declare them unworthy of living.

Nothing can erase the pain our families have experienced, but we can honor the memory of our loved ones, by working to end the death penalty and for effective responses to violence. We want a legal system that holds people who commit violence accountable in meaningful ways, reduces crime and is responsive to survivors’ needs. Instead of investing our State’s resources, time and effort in executing our citizens, we should invest in solving cold cases, reducing crime and violence and addressing the needs of families like ours.

We urge you to commute the death sentences of everyone on North Carolina’s death row and abandon our state’s failed death penalty system.

Respectfully,

Therese Leone Bartholomew
Charlotte, NC
Brother, Steve Leone, murdered in Greenville, South Carolina

Carol Dreiling
Alexander, NC
Parents, Joan (Jo-Ann) and Fred Dreiling, murdered in Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Gorman
Oak Island, NC
Grandson, Petty Officer Brian Eddie Colletti, murdered in Wilmington, NC

Rev. Cody Robert Marks
Kenly, NC
Uncle, Keith Marks, murdered in Georgia

Pat McCoy
Charlotte, NC
Sister, Kathy Lu McCoy, murdered in Spokane, WA

Mattie Moore
Asheville, NC
Grandson, Kelby Swinton Moore, murdered in Asheville, NC

Jean Parks
Asheville, NC
Sister, Elizabeth “Betsy” Parks Rosenberg, murdered in Raleigh, NC

Zakiya Payne
High Point, NC
Cousin, Rodney Rhoades, murdered in High Point, NC

Rev. Sharon Risher
Charlotte, NC
Mother, Ethel Lance, murdered in Charleston, SC

Alfred Rivera
Concord, NC
Father, Wilfredo Rivera, murdered in Brooklyn, NY

Thalia Rivera
Greensboro, NC
Father, Wilfredo Rivera, murdered in Brooklyn, NY

Wilfredo Rivera Jr.
Winston-Salem, NC
Father, Wilfredo Rivera, murdered in Brooklyn, NY

William Rodriguez
Winston-Salem, NC
Father, Wilfredo Rivera, murdered in Brooklyn, NY

John Simmons
Sparta, NC
Son, Petty Officer Brian Eddie Colletti, murdered in Wilmington, NC

Lynda Simmons
Sparta, NC
Son, Petty Officer Brian Eddie Colletti, murdered in Wilmington, NC

Andre Smith
Raleigh, NC
Son, Daniel Dietmar Smith, murdered in Raleigh, NC

Gabi I. Smith
Raleigh, NC
Son, Daniel Dietmar Smith, murdered in Raleigh, NC

Megan Smith
Asheville, NC
Father and step-mother, Terry and Lucy Smith, murdered in Ephrata, PA

John Syriani
Dyer, Indiana
Mother, Theresa Syriani, murdered in Charlotte, NC