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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
    • 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
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Search NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Blog

Racist jury strikes go on trial in the NC Supreme Court

Feb 1, 2023
Russell Tucker was a Black man facing the death penalty in the South in the “tough-on-crime” 1990s. He deserved the chance to be tried by a jury of his peers. However, a Forsyth County prosecutor came up with reason after reason why Black people could not remain on the jury. On Feb. 8, Mr. Tucker's attorneys will present evidence to the NC Supreme Court that jurors were illegally excluded because of their race.... Read More →

Racist jury strikes go on trial in the NC Supreme Court

February 1, 2023 · Kristin Collins

Russell Tucker was a Black man facing the death penalty in the South in the “tough-on-crime” 1990s. He deserved the chance to be tried by a jury of his peers. However, a Forsyth County prosecutor came up with reason after reason why Black people could not remain on the jury. On Feb. 8, Mr. Tucker’s attorneys will present evidence to the NC Supreme Court that jurors were illegally excluded because of their race…. Read More →

Filed Under: Blog, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act

No More Death Row! On Dec. 10, we flowed like a river for justice

Dec 15, 2022
We held North Carolina’s largest death penalty abolition event in more than a decade. Well over a hundred people gathered outside Central Prison and marched more than two miles to the Governor’s Mansion. Downtown Raleigh was awash in signs that proclaimed: No More Death Row! At the mansion, we were 200 strong as we made our demand of Governor Cooper: He must use his power to commute the death sentences of all 135 people on death row.... Read More →

No More Death Row! On Dec. 10, we flowed like a river for justice

December 15, 2022 · Kristin Collins

We held North Carolina’s largest death penalty abolition event in more than a decade. Well over a hundred people gathered outside Central Prison and marched more than two miles to the Governor’s Mansion. Downtown Raleigh was awash in signs that proclaimed: No More Death Row! At the mansion, we were 200 strong as we made our demand of Governor Cooper: He must use his power to commute the death sentences of all 135 people on death row…. Read More →

Filed Under: Blog

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

Dec 15, 2022
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. […]

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

December 15, 2022 · Kristin Collins

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. […]

Filed Under: Failure to Serve Victims

Watch Racist Roots & help us make the death penalty history!

Nov 17, 2022
You may think that watching a video doesn't make a difference in the world. But we’re here to tell you that it does. At more than two dozen screenings, we’ve seen this film’s power to educate and move people to action. It’s a key part of our work to organize a public movement to end the North Carolina death penalty. If it spreads far and wide, it will lead to change.... Read More →

Watch Racist Roots & help us make the death penalty history!

November 17, 2022 · Kristin Collins

You may think that watching a video doesn’t make a difference in the world. But we’re here to tell you that it does. At more than two dozen screenings, we’ve seen this film’s power to educate and move people to action. It’s a key part of our work to organize a public movement to end the North Carolina death penalty. If it spreads far and wide, it will lead to change…. Read More →

Filed Under: Abolition, Blog, Racial Bias, Uncategorized

An unjust choice: How NC used the death penalty to force my client to sign his life away

Sep 20, 2022
This week, my client Ty Hargrove was sentenced to die in prison. In 2017, Ty killed his estranged girlfriend, Shaekeya Gay, in front of a Henderson Food Lion. He was […]

An unjust choice: How NC used the death penalty to force my client to sign his life away

September 20, 2022 · Kristin Collins

This week, my client Ty Hargrove was sentenced to die in prison. In 2017, Ty killed his estranged girlfriend, Shaekeya Gay, in front of a Henderson Food Lion. He was […]

Filed Under: Blog

What we need instead of the death penalty: Envisioning the future together

Aug 30, 2022
“Halfe to food and halfe to the homeless.” The phrase was clearly written by a child. The words in green marker stood out in the middle of the large poster […]

What we need instead of the death penalty: Envisioning the future together

August 30, 2022 · Noel Nickle

“Halfe to food and halfe to the homeless.” The phrase was clearly written by a child. The words in green marker stood out in the middle of the large poster […]

Filed Under: Blog

In life-and-death cases, the jury box must be open to all — not just those most prone to convict

Aug 24, 2022
We already know from our experience with the Racial Justice Act how prosecutors work to keep juries in capital cases overwhelmingly white, using the tool of peremptory strikes. Now, new […]

In life-and-death cases, the jury box must be open to all — not just those most prone to convict

August 24, 2022 · Kristin Collins

We already know from our experience with the Racial Justice Act how prosecutors work to keep juries in capital cases overwhelmingly white, using the tool of peremptory strikes. Now, new […]

Filed Under: Blog, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act, Wake County

Our community in action: Moving forward with hope on the 16th anniversary of NC’s last execution

Aug 18, 2022
Sixteen years ago today, North Carolina used its execution chamber for the last time. On August 18, 2006, Samuel Flippen was the last of 43 people executed under our modern […]

Our community in action: Moving forward with hope on the 16th anniversary of NC’s last execution

August 18, 2022 · Kristin Collins

Sixteen years ago today, North Carolina used its execution chamber for the last time. On August 18, 2006, Samuel Flippen was the last of 43 people executed under our modern […]

Filed Under: Blog, Uncategorized

Never Again: Creating a new vision of justice on the 16th anniversary of NC’s last execution

Aug 4, 2022
On August 18, it will be sixteen years since North Carolina strapped Samuel Flippen to a gurney and executed him in the middle of the night. From August 15 to 19, we are gathering for a week of in-person events to remember the 43 people executed under our current death penalty laws and to recommit to building a future without the death penalty. Please join us.... Read More →

Never Again: Creating a new vision of justice on the 16th anniversary of NC’s last execution

August 4, 2022 · Kristin Collins

On August 18, it will be sixteen years since North Carolina strapped Samuel Flippen to a gurney and executed him in the middle of the night. From August 15 to 19, we are gathering for a week of in-person events to remember the 43 people executed under our current death penalty laws and to recommit to building a future without the death penalty. Please join us…. Read More →

Filed Under: Blog

NC courts are ending extreme punishments rooted in hysteria & racism. The death penalty should be next.

Jul 19, 2022
Three-quarters of the 136 people living on North Carolina’s death row were sentenced to death in the 1990s. But our large death row is just one of the remnants of […]

NC courts are ending extreme punishments rooted in hysteria & racism. The death penalty should be next.

July 19, 2022 · Kristin Collins

Three-quarters of the 136 people living on North Carolina’s death row were sentenced to death in the 1990s. But our large death row is just one of the remnants of […]

Filed Under: Blog, Children in Prison

Remembering Marcus Robinson, who helped expose death penalty racism

Jul 1, 2022
Reposted from the Center for Death Penalty Litigation Earlier this month, Marcus Robinson was found dead in his cell at Scotland Correctional Institution. The prison ruled it a suicide. He […]

Remembering Marcus Robinson, who helped expose death penalty racism

July 1, 2022 · Kristin Collins

Reposted from the Center for Death Penalty Litigation Earlier this month, Marcus Robinson was found dead in his cell at Scotland Correctional Institution. The prison ruled it a suicide. He […]

Filed Under: Blog, Racial Justice Act

My client’s death penalty trial was tainted by racism. Twenty-five years later, we found healing

May 11, 2022
By Elizabeth Hambourger Yesterday, my client Henry White went home to his family after 25 years in prison. It was one of the most heartwarming moments I’ve experienced as a […]

My client’s death penalty trial was tainted by racism. Twenty-five years later, we found healing

May 11, 2022 · Kristin Collins

By Elizabeth Hambourger Yesterday, my client Henry White went home to his family after 25 years in prison. It was one of the most heartwarming moments I’ve experienced as a […]

Filed Under: Blog

First NC death sentence since 2019 is a reminder: Even without executions, the machinery of death cranks on

Apr 21, 2022
If you follow the news about the death penalty, you’ve probably heard that five executions are scheduled in United States in the next few weeks — and that one of […]

First NC death sentence since 2019 is a reminder: Even without executions, the machinery of death cranks on

April 21, 2022 · Kristin Collins

If you follow the news about the death penalty, you’ve probably heard that five executions are scheduled in United States in the next few weeks — and that one of […]

Filed Under: Blog, Crime Deterrence, Declining Use

A hung jury in a death penalty trial reveals a skewed and unfair system

Apr 9, 2022
This week in Warren County, Lester Kearney’s capital murder trial was declared a mistrial after the jury couldn’t agree on his innocence or guilt. The prosecution’s case was based entirely […]

A hung jury in a death penalty trial reveals a skewed and unfair system

April 9, 2022 · Kristin Collins

This week in Warren County, Lester Kearney’s capital murder trial was declared a mistrial after the jury couldn’t agree on his innocence or guilt. The prosecution’s case was based entirely […]

Filed Under: Blog, Innocence

As a prosecutor tries an innocent man in NC, history is repeating itself

Mar 23, 2022
Yesterday, the death penalty trial of Lester Kearney began in Warrenton, North Carolina. Kearney, a Black man, is accused of a terrible crime. An elderly white couple was beaten, robbed, […]

As a prosecutor tries an innocent man in NC, history is repeating itself

March 23, 2022 · Noel Nickle

Yesterday, the death penalty trial of Lester Kearney began in Warrenton, North Carolina. Kearney, a Black man, is accused of a terrible crime. An elderly white couple was beaten, robbed, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Innocence

Teens are no longer sentenced to death in NC, but many are still victims of the death penalty

Mar 15, 2022
Few of us would choose to be judged solely on the choices we made as teens. But that is exactly what our criminal justice system does when it imposes extremely […]

Teens are no longer sentenced to death in NC, but many are still victims of the death penalty

March 15, 2022 · Kristin Collins

Few of us would choose to be judged solely on the choices we made as teens. But that is exactly what our criminal justice system does when it imposes extremely […]

Filed Under: Children in Prison, Life Without Parole, Racial Bias

Wake DA Lorrin Freeman must remember: She holds people’s lives in her hands

Mar 8, 2022
A new story by Jeffrey Billman in The Assembly has done a huge public service: It’s given us a much fuller picture of one of North Carolina’s most powerful district […]

Wake DA Lorrin Freeman must remember: She holds people’s lives in her hands

March 8, 2022 · Kristin Collins

A new story by Jeffrey Billman in The Assembly has done a huge public service: It’s given us a much fuller picture of one of North Carolina’s most powerful district […]

Filed Under: Wake County

My client got two years of freedom after 36 years of wrongful incarceration; this does not mean the system works

Feb 9, 2022
Reposted with permission from NC Policy Watch I recently got some sad news. My former client, James Blackmon, died earlier this month from complications from COVID. He was 68. Mr. Blackmon was […]

My client got two years of freedom after 36 years of wrongful incarceration; this does not mean the system works

February 9, 2022 · Kristin Collins

Reposted with permission from NC Policy Watch I recently got some sad news. My former client, James Blackmon, died earlier this month from complications from COVID. He was 68. Mr. Blackmon was […]

Filed Under: Mental Illness, Uncategorized

A tribute to Gerda Stein: With empathy and commitment, she worked for justice

Jan 21, 2022
On January 21, one of North Carolina’s most dedicated advocates, Gerda Stein, will leave her long-time post as director of public information at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. Here, […]

A tribute to Gerda Stein: With empathy and commitment, she worked for justice

January 21, 2022 · Kristin Collins

On January 21, one of North Carolina’s most dedicated advocates, Gerda Stein, will leave her long-time post as director of public information at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. Here, […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Mockery of Justice: Jury deciding fate of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers highlights a nation’s failure to prevent racist jury strikes

Nov 17, 2021
The law promises a “race-neutral” process for choosing juries. Yet, last week, the nation watched as a jury of eleven whites and just one Black person was seated to hear […]

Mockery of Justice: Jury deciding fate of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers highlights a nation’s failure to prevent racist jury strikes

November 17, 2021 · Kristin Collins

The law promises a “race-neutral” process for choosing juries. Yet, last week, the nation watched as a jury of eleven whites and just one Black person was seated to hear […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Anniversary provides powerful reminder of racism that afflicts NC’s death penalty

Nov 17, 2021
Reposted from N.C. Policy Watch A few months ago, my former client Robert Bacon died in the hospital at Central Prison. Because of COVID-19, he died alone. His loving sister had […]

Anniversary provides powerful reminder of racism that afflicts NC’s death penalty

November 17, 2021 · Kristin Collins

Reposted from N.C. Policy Watch A few months ago, my former client Robert Bacon died in the hospital at Central Prison. Because of COVID-19, he died alone. His loving sister had […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

NC execution chamber

This week marks the 15th anniversary of NC’s last execution. Let’s make sure we never have another

Aug 16, 2021
August 16, 2021 Today, it’s easy for most North Carolinians to forget that our state has a death penalty. It’s been fifteen years since the early morning of August 18, […]

This week marks the 15th anniversary of NC’s last execution. Let’s make sure we never have another

August 16, 2021 · Kristin Collins

NC execution chamber
NC execution chamber

August 16, 2021 Today, it’s easy for most North Carolinians to forget that our state has a death penalty. It’s been fifteen years since the early morning of August 18, […]

Filed Under: Latest News

I’m still learning what freedom really means for the wrongfully convicted

May 26, 2021
When I saw Ronnie Long openly express his heartbreak and fury, I realized how I’d expected exonerees to smile and be thankful for what they were given, rather than demanding acknowledgment of the life that was stolen from them. When I saw Ronnie Long smoke a cigarette in front of a reporter’s video camera, blow out the smoke and say, “That’s freedom,” I realized how we pressure exonerees to appear perfect. In our society, the wrongfully convicted have to prove themselves worthy of freedom, just as Black people have to prove that they are well behaved enough not to be killed by police. Long made me realize that I, too, had absorbed the idea that exonerees must be model citizens to earn our sympathy.... Read More →

I’m still learning what freedom really means for the wrongfully convicted

May 26, 2021 · Kristin Collins

When I saw Ronnie Long openly express his heartbreak and fury, I realized how I’d expected exonerees to smile and be thankful for what they were given, rather than demanding acknowledgment of the life that was stolen from them. When I saw Ronnie Long smoke a cigarette in front of a reporter’s video camera, blow out the smoke and say, “That’s freedom,” I realized how we pressure exonerees to appear perfect. In our society, the wrongfully convicted have to prove themselves worthy of freedom, just as Black people have to prove that they are well behaved enough not to be killed by police. Long made me realize that I, too, had absorbed the idea that exonerees must be model citizens to earn our sympathy…. Read More →

Filed Under: Innocence, Latest News

Henry McCollum & Vernetta Alston

I represented an innocent man on death row. Here’s why NC must end the death penalty

May 18, 2021
In September 2014, I was sitting with Henry McCollum at the moment a judge ordered his release from death row for a crime he did not commit. Many folks in the courtroom clapped in celebration. Others embraced out of relief. It had been 30 years since Henry and his brother Leon Brown – two innocent and intellectually disabled children – had been convicted and sentenced to death in Robeson County, North Carolina. A case that had captured the country’s attention had come to an end for the two men, who had unflinchingly claimed their innocence for all those years. But Henry, the innocent man at the center of it all, remained solemn.... Read More →

I represented an innocent man on death row. Here’s why NC must end the death penalty

May 18, 2021 · Kristin Collins

Henry McCollum & Vernetta Alston
Henry McCollum & Vernetta Alston

In September 2014, I was sitting with Henry McCollum at the moment a judge ordered his release from death row for a crime he did not commit. Many folks in the courtroom clapped in celebration. Others embraced out of relief. It had been 30 years since Henry and his brother Leon Brown – two innocent and intellectually disabled children – had been convicted and sentenced to death in Robeson County, North Carolina. A case that had captured the country’s attention had come to an end for the two men, who had unflinchingly claimed their innocence for all those years. But Henry, the innocent man at the center of it all, remained solemn…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

Wake County wanted the death penalty for a man with severe mental illness; only a pandemic stopped it

May 11, 2021
A bipartisan group of North Carolina legislators introduced a bill this week to prohibit the death penalty for people with severe mental illness. Here's a recent case that illustrates why this law is so needed: Wake County prosecutors knew that Kendrick Gregory had severe mental illness when they decided to try him capitally. In the eight months before the crime, he’d been hospitalized at least 20 times for mental illness. He checked himself into emergency rooms over and over, reporting symptoms of psychosis. On some occasions, he said he heard voices telling him to hurt himself. In the five years that they sought to try him for the death penalty, his mental illness became only more apparent. It is both immoral and unconstitutional to execute people who cannot understand or regulate their actions. Yet, in North Carolina, it remains accepted practice to try people with severe mental illness for their lives.... Read More →

Wake County wanted the death penalty for a man with severe mental illness; only a pandemic stopped it

May 11, 2021 · Kristin Collins

A bipartisan group of North Carolina legislators introduced a bill this week to prohibit the death penalty for people with severe mental illness. Here’s a recent case that illustrates why this law is so needed: Wake County prosecutors knew that Kendrick Gregory had severe mental illness when they decided to try him capitally. In the eight months before the crime, he’d been hospitalized at least 20 times for mental illness. He checked himself into emergency rooms over and over, reporting symptoms of psychosis. On some occasions, he said he heard voices telling him to hurt himself. In the five years that they sought to try him for the death penalty, his mental illness became only more apparent. It is both immoral and unconstitutional to execute people who cannot understand or regulate their actions. Yet, in North Carolina, it remains accepted practice to try people with severe mental illness for their lives…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Mental Illness, Wake County

George Floyd Memorial

Chauvin trial shows that justice requires diverse, inclusive juries

Apr 22, 2021
No one should have been on the edge of their seat about the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial. He was caught on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd begged for his life. But this is America, where police are almost never held accountable, so we held our breath and prepared for Chauvin to be acquitted. But in this rare case, a jury of six white, four Black and two multiracial people provided a measure of justice, finding Chauvin guilty of murder. Surely, the jury’s diverse makeup helped it reach this much-needed verdict. Yet, it’s exactly this kind of diversity that prosecutors often work to avoid. They strike Black citizens from juries at far higher rates than whites. Then, when they’re accused of violating the law prohibiting racist jury strikes, they offer the flimsiest possible defenses. And no matter how implausible their excuses are, they almost always get away with it. ... Read More →

Chauvin trial shows that justice requires diverse, inclusive juries

April 22, 2021 · Kristin Collins

George Floyd Memorial
George Floyd Memorial

No one should have been on the edge of their seat about the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial. He was caught on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd begged for his life. But this is America, where police are almost never held accountable, so we held our breath and prepared for Chauvin to be acquitted. But in this rare case, a jury of six white, four Black and two multiracial people provided a measure of justice, finding Chauvin guilty of murder. Surely, the jury’s diverse makeup helped it reach this much-needed verdict. Yet, it’s exactly this kind of diversity that prosecutors often work to avoid. They strike Black citizens from juries at far higher rates than whites. Then, when they’re accused of violating the law prohibiting racist jury strikes, they offer the flimsiest possible defenses. And no matter how implausible their excuses are, they almost always get away with it. … Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, National News, Public Safety Officials, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act

CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger

Virginia just abolished its deeply racist death penalty; North Carolina must follow suit

Apr 7, 2021
This piece is reposted from N.C. Policy Watch. By Elizabeth Hambourger “This is, as we know, a historic day for Virginia. We are the first Southern state to abolish capital […]

Virginia just abolished its deeply racist death penalty; North Carolina must follow suit

April 7, 2021 · Kristin Collins

CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger
CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger

This piece is reposted from N.C. Policy Watch. By Elizabeth Hambourger “This is, as we know, a historic day for Virginia. We are the first Southern state to abolish capital […]

Filed Under: Abolition, Latest News, National News

Newly discovered innocence cases show how old problems still haunt the N.C. death penalty

Mar 10, 2021
Last month, two new men were added to the list of innocent people who've been sentenced to death in North Carolina. Anthony Carey was sentenced to execution for a murder he took no part in, based entirely on the testimony of a 16-year-old who had made a deal with the police. The teen said that while he robbed and murdered a gas station attendant, Carey was a passenger in a getaway car parked blocks away. In exchange for that testimony, the prosecutor allowed the teen to plead guilty to second-degree murder while Carey went to death row.... Read More →

Newly discovered innocence cases show how old problems still haunt the N.C. death penalty

March 10, 2021 · Kristin Collins

Last month, two new men were added to the list of innocent people who’ve been sentenced to death in North Carolina. Anthony Carey was sentenced to execution for a murder he took no part in, based entirely on the testimony of a 16-year-old who had made a deal with the police. The teen said that while he robbed and murdered a gas station attendant, Carey was a passenger in a getaway car parked blocks away. In exchange for that testimony, the prosecutor allowed the teen to plead guilty to second-degree murder while Carey went to death row…. Read More →

Filed Under: Innocence, Latest News, Uncategorized

We must remove racist symbols from North Carolina’s courthouses

Feb 18, 2021
This week, a diverse group of criminal justice leaders announced a campaign to rid North Carolina’s courthouses of Confederate symbols. At least 39 counties have these racist monuments on grounds that should be dedicated to impartial justice. The N.C. Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System says it will create a complete database of all Confederate symbols on courthouse grounds; sponsor events to educate the public on the history of these monuments, most of which were erected in the Jim Crow era as symbols of white supremacy; develop a legislative and legal strategy for monument removal; and serve as a resource for communities seeking to remove them. At NCCADP, we wholeheartedly support this work and see it as closely related to our efforts to abolish the death penalty.... Read More →

We must remove racist symbols from North Carolina’s courthouses

February 18, 2021 · Kristin Collins

This week, a diverse group of criminal justice leaders announced a campaign to rid North Carolina’s courthouses of Confederate symbols. At least 39 counties have these racist monuments on grounds that should be dedicated to impartial justice. The N.C. Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System says it will create a complete database of all Confederate symbols on courthouse grounds; sponsor events to educate the public on the history of these monuments, most of which were erected in the Jim Crow era as symbols of white supremacy; develop a legislative and legal strategy for monument removal; and serve as a resource for communities seeking to remove them. At NCCADP, we wholeheartedly support this work and see it as closely related to our efforts to abolish the death penalty…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Racial Bias

Three more federal executions planned this week will bring no justice, only cruelty and heartbreak

Jan 11, 2021
This week, the federal government plans to execute three people: Lisa Montgomery, Cory Johnson and Dustin Higgs. If all three executions are carried out, that will make 13 people executed […]

Three more federal executions planned this week will bring no justice, only cruelty and heartbreak

January 11, 2021 · Kristin Collins

This week, the federal government plans to execute three people: Lisa Montgomery, Cory Johnson and Dustin Higgs. If all three executions are carried out, that will make 13 people executed […]

Filed Under: Blog, Latest News, National News

Raleigh Confederate Monument

Don’t miss this new project on the Racist Roots of the NC death penalty

Oct 15, 2020
This month, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation launched an ambitious new online project, Racist Roots: Origins of North Carolina’s Death Penalty.  The project includes essays, poetry, artwork, commentary, and historical documents that place the state’s death penalty in the context of 400 years of history and expose its deep entanglement with slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, and modern systemic racism. The death penalty, the project contends, is another Confederate monument that North Carolina must tear down. Read the introduction here and then explore the rest of the project at RacistRoots.org... Read More →

Don’t miss this new project on the Racist Roots of the NC death penalty

October 15, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Raleigh Confederate Monument
Raleigh Confederate Monument

This month, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation launched an ambitious new online project, Racist Roots: Origins of North Carolina’s Death Penalty. 

The project includes essays, poetry, artwork, commentary, and historical documents that place the state’s death penalty in the context of 400 years of history and expose its deep entanglement with slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, and modern systemic racism. The death penalty, the project contends, is another Confederate monument that North Carolina must tear down. Read the introduction here and then explore the rest of the project at RacistRoots.org… Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

Three More RJA Cases Decided: NC Supreme Court Removes Ms Walters, Mr Augustine, and Mr Golphin from Death Row

Sep 25, 2020
  On Friday, September 25th, 2020, Christina Walters, Quintel Augustine, and Tilmon Golphin were resentenced from death to life without parole. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that they had […]

Three More RJA Cases Decided: NC Supreme Court Removes Ms Walters, Mr Augustine, and Mr Golphin from Death Row

September 25, 2020 · Emily Baxter

  On Friday, September 25th, 2020, Christina Walters, Quintel Augustine, and Tilmon Golphin were resentenced from death to life without parole. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that they had […]

Filed Under: Blog, Latest News, Uncategorized

Supreme Court ruling shows why NC must end its racist death penalty

Aug 21, 2020
Last week, the North Carolina Supreme Court broke new ground for a state court in the South. Not only did the justices nullify a death sentence poisoned by racism, they […]

Supreme Court ruling shows why NC must end its racist death penalty

August 21, 2020 · Emily Baxter

Last week, the North Carolina Supreme Court broke new ground for a state court in the South. Not only did the justices nullify a death sentence poisoned by racism, they […]

Filed Under: Blog, Latest News

N.C. Supreme Court: Racial Justice Act is key to ending death penalty racism

Aug 14, 2020
The North Carolina Supreme Court has issued a historic call for the state to address and rise above its history of excluding Black citizens from jury service and allowing racial […]

N.C. Supreme Court: Racial Justice Act is key to ending death penalty racism

August 14, 2020 · Emily Baxter

The North Carolina Supreme Court has issued a historic call for the state to address and rise above its history of excluding Black citizens from jury service and allowing racial […]

Filed Under: Blog, Latest News

Wilmington Police Department

Firing racist Wilmington police officers caught on tape should be only the beginning

Jun 30, 2020
Last week, three Wilmington police officers were fired after being caught on tape making some of the most vile and racist statements imaginable. Unbelievably, their desire to gun down Black people in a race war was just one entry in a litany of shocking and despicable comments. Firing them was a good first step, but we must admit that the problem is far broader. It's time to unearth the real-life consequences of such racist attitudes.... Read More →

Firing racist Wilmington police officers caught on tape should be only the beginning

June 30, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Wilmington Police Department
Wilmington Police Department

Last week, three Wilmington police officers were fired after being caught on tape making some of the most vile and racist statements imaginable. Unbelievably, their desire to gun down Black people in a race war was just one entry in a litany of shocking and despicable comments. Firing them was a good first step, but we must admit that the problem is far broader. It’s time to unearth the real-life consequences of such racist attitudes…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

James Ferguson II on the meaning, impact and promise of the Racial Justice Act

Jun 17, 2020
  This article was originally published on June 17, 2020 in the NC Policy Watch. When I was a young Black lawyer in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, there was […]

James Ferguson II on the meaning, impact and promise of the Racial Justice Act

June 17, 2020 · Emily Baxter

  This article was originally published on June 17, 2020 in the NC Policy Watch. When I was a young Black lawyer in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, there was […]

Filed Under: Blog, Criminal Justice Reform, Latest News, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act

Landmark N.C. Supreme Court ruling brings death penalty racism into spotlight

Jun 5, 2020
The Center for Death Penalty Litigation’s June 5 2020 Press Release: The North Carolina Supreme Court today issued two landmark civil rights rulings on the Racial Justice Act, clearing the […]

Landmark N.C. Supreme Court ruling brings death penalty racism into spotlight

June 5, 2020 · Emily Baxter

The Center for Death Penalty Litigation’s June 5 2020 Press Release: The North Carolina Supreme Court today issued two landmark civil rights rulings on the Racial Justice Act, clearing the […]

Filed Under: Latest News, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act

A poem from death row in honor of Covid-19 first responders

May 20, 2020
There have not yet been any reported cases of Coronavirus on North Carolina’s death row, but prisons have emerged as some of the worst hot spots for Covid-19. More than 25,000 cases have so far been diagnosed among U.S. prisoners and the numbers are increasing exponentially. Rayford Burke is 62 years old and has lived on North Carolina’s death row since 1993. In prison, Rayford has taken up writing and become a keen observer of the world. Here we share his most recent work, a poem in honor of Covid-19 first responders.... Read More →

A poem from death row in honor of Covid-19 first responders

May 20, 2020 · Kristin Collins

There have not yet been any reported cases of Coronavirus on North Carolina’s death row, but prisons have emerged as some of the worst hot spots for Covid-19. More than 25,000 cases have so far been diagnosed among U.S. prisoners and the numbers are increasing exponentially. Rayford Burke is 62 years old and has lived on North Carolina’s death row since 1993. In prison, Rayford has taken up writing and become a keen observer of the world. Here we share his most recent work, a poem in honor of Covid-19 first responders…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

Faye Brown

A Covid-19 death sentence showcases an inhumane and illogical punishment system

May 13, 2020
Last week, the state announced that an unnamed prisoner had become the first person to die from a Covid-19 outbreak at North Carolina Women’s Prison. The person was Faye Brown, and her death is the end of a 45-year story that demonstrates the cruelty and excess of our punishment system. In a humane system, this 67-year-old woman who reformed herself in every way possible would have gotten a second chance at life in the free world. In that world, she would have had at least the possibility of protecting herself from a deadly virus. But in our system, which prides itself on unending punishment at any cost, a life sentence turned into a death sentence.... Read More →

A Covid-19 death sentence showcases an inhumane and illogical punishment system

May 13, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Faye Brown
Faye Brown

Last week, the state announced that an unnamed prisoner had become the first person to die from a Covid-19 outbreak at North Carolina Women’s Prison. The person was Faye Brown, and her death is the end of a 45-year story that demonstrates the cruelty and excess of our punishment system. In a humane system, this 67-year-old woman who reformed herself in every way possible would have gotten a second chance at life in the free world. In that world, she would have had at least the possibility of protecting herself from a deadly virus. But in our system, which prides itself on unending punishment at any cost, a life sentence turned into a death sentence…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

Justices' benches at the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina

NC Supreme Court sends a message to judges: Start taking jury discrimination seriously

May 6, 2020
In these days of COVID, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by bad news. But we shouldn’t forget to celebrate good news, and we’ve had a little of that in the past week. On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision that sends a clear message: North Carolina’s courts must finally begin to take the exclusion of black jurors seriously. The decision says that, when a person on trial suggests that a prosecutor struck a  juror because of the juror’s race, the courts must fully investigate. They must consider the history of disproportionate jury strikes in the county, and compare the treatment of white people and people of color in the jury pool to see if it’s been equal. If these sound like no brainers, that’s because they are. This is the least the courts can do to begin to end the decades-long practice of denying people of color a voice in the criminal punishment system.... Read More →

NC Supreme Court sends a message to judges: Start taking jury discrimination seriously

May 6, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Justices' benches at the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina
Justices' benches at the Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina

In these days of COVID, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by bad news. But we shouldn’t forget to celebrate good news, and we’ve had a little of that in the past week. On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision that sends a clear message: North Carolina’s courts must finally begin to take the exclusion of black jurors seriously. The decision says that, when a person on trial suggests that a prosecutor struck a  juror because of the juror’s race, the courts must fully investigate. They must consider the history of disproportionate jury strikes in the county, and compare the treatment of white people and people of color in the jury pool to see if it’s been equal. If these sound like no brainers, that’s because they are. This is the least the courts can do to begin to end the decades-long practice of denying people of color a voice in the criminal punishment system…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Racial Bias, Racial Justice Act

Durham DA Satana Deberry

COVID Lessons: Public safety means letting go of extreme punishment

Apr 15, 2020
COVID-19 is teaching society many lessons. One of them is that public safety doesn’t always mean locking people up for as much time as possible. Right now, public safety means letting people go home. With the number of infected prisoners and guards growing quickly, reducing incarcerated populations protects us all — because once the virus spreads inside a prison, it doesn’t stay there. Prisons are like small cities. Many people go in and out every day: staff, defense lawyers, law enforcement, doctors, and many more. If a virus is in a prison, it threatens the free world too. ... Read More →

COVID Lessons: Public safety means letting go of extreme punishment

April 15, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Durham DA Satana Deberry
Durham DA Satana Deberry

COVID-19 is teaching society many lessons. One of them is that public safety doesn’t always mean locking people up for as much time as possible. Right now, public safety means letting people go home. With the number of infected prisoners and guards growing quickly, reducing incarcerated populations protects us all — because once the virus spreads inside a prison, it doesn’t stay there. Prisons are like small cities. Many people go in and out every day: staff, defense lawyers, law enforcement, doctors, and many more. If a virus is in a prison, it threatens the free world too. … Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

NC death row

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, let’s deem the death penalty nonessential work

Apr 1, 2020
In the midst of a Coronavirus pandemic, society is forced to decide which work is essential. Across the United States, that question is now being applied to countless enterprises — including the death penalty. Is it essential for states to kill people? Eighteen executions are scheduled between now and the end of the year in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. Countless death penalty trials are also planned across the country, including in North Carolina. The courts are likely to call most or all of them off because, right now, if our society wants to kill, we must risk harming innocent people too. That has always been true, but the Coronavirus allows us to see and feel that risk more concretely.... Read More →

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, let’s deem the death penalty nonessential work

April 1, 2020 · Kristin Collins

NC death row
NC death row

In the midst of a Coronavirus pandemic, society is forced to decide which work is essential. Across the United States, that question is now being applied to countless enterprises — including the death penalty. Is it essential for states to kill people? Eighteen executions are scheduled between now and the end of the year in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. Countless death penalty trials are also planned across the country, including in North Carolina. The courts are likely to call most or all of them off because, right now, if our society wants to kill, we must risk harming innocent people too. That has always been true, but the Coronavirus allows us to see and feel that risk more concretely…. Read More →

Filed Under: Abolition, Latest News, National News, Public Opinion

Colorado state capitol

Even amid the chaos of coronavirus, states still moving away from the death penalty

Mar 25, 2020
This week, some much-needed good news came out of Colorado. Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill ending the death penalty and commuting the sentences of the state’s three remaining death row prisoners. His signature made Colorado the tenth state since 2007 to decide that the death penalty isn’t necessary to maintain public safety and does more to perpetuate injustice than to ensure justice. Right now, with Covid-19 bearing down, most states and local governments are focusing on short-term efforts to cut jail populations and release some of the scores of people who are behind bars only because they can’t afford to pay bail. But Colorado has taken a step at the other end of the spectrum, joining a national movement away from the death penalty.... Read More →

Even amid the chaos of coronavirus, states still moving away from the death penalty

March 25, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Colorado state capitol
Colorado state capitol

This week, some much-needed good news came out of Colorado. Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill ending the death penalty and commuting the sentences of the state’s three remaining death row prisoners. His signature made Colorado the tenth state since 2007 to decide that the death penalty isn’t necessary to maintain public safety and does more to perpetuate injustice than to ensure justice. Right now, with Covid-19 bearing down, most states and local governments are focusing on short-term efforts to cut jail populations and release some of the scores of people who are behind bars only because they can’t afford to pay bail. But Colorado has taken a step at the other end of the spectrum, joining a national movement away from the death penalty…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, National News, Public Opinion, Uncategorized

Echoes of Central Park 5 in NC: Children were threatened with the execution chamber to force murder confessions; decades later, two remain in prison

Mar 19, 2020
The five boys were 14 and 15 years old when they were taken to the Winston-Salem police station. The cops wanted them to confess to the murder of Nathaniel Jones, a 61-year-old man who’d been beaten, robbed and left tied up on his carport, then died of a heart attack. The boys said they knew nothing about the crime. Detectives separated the children and interrogated them hour after hour, without lawyers or their parents there to help them. Police threatened them and told them that if they confessed, they’d be allowed to go home. One detective described the process of death by lethal injection. “Hold out your arm,” the armed officer said to the child. “That’s the vein.” ... Read More →

Echoes of Central Park 5 in NC: Children were threatened with the execution chamber to force murder confessions; decades later, two remain in prison

March 19, 2020 · Kristin Collins

The five boys were 14 and 15 years old when they were taken to the Winston-Salem police station. The cops wanted them to confess to the murder of Nathaniel Jones, a 61-year-old man who’d been beaten, robbed and left tied up on his carport, then died of a heart attack. The boys said they knew nothing about the crime. Detectives separated the children and interrogated them hour after hour, without lawyers or their parents there to help them. Police threatened them and told them that if they confessed, they’d be allowed to go home. One detective described the process of death by lethal injection. “Hold out your arm,” the armed officer said to the child. “That’s the vein.” … Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Uncategorized

Wake DA Lorrin Freeman

Wake DA pursues death penalty even for people with severe mental illness

Feb 25, 2020
Since Freeman took office in 2014, Wake has sought the death penalty at trial more than any other North Carolina county. And in almost every case, the defendant has been a black man. Freeman would have voters believe she has no choice but to pursue the death penalty, but it’s simply not true. She’s making a conscious choice to put people with severe mental illness on trial for their lives, to fight to keep innocent people in prison, and to disproportionately seek the death penalty against people of color. The citizens of Wake County deserve better.... Read More →

Wake DA pursues death penalty even for people with severe mental illness

February 25, 2020 · Kristin Collins

Wake DA Lorrin Freeman
Wake DA Lorrin Freeman

Since Freeman took office in 2014, Wake has sought the death penalty at trial more than any other North Carolina county. And in almost every case, the defendant has been a black man. Freeman would have voters believe she has no choice but to pursue the death penalty, but it’s simply not true. She’s making a conscious choice to put people with severe mental illness on trial for their lives, to fight to keep innocent people in prison, and to disproportionately seek the death penalty against people of color. The citizens of Wake County deserve better…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Uncategorized

Henry McCollum

Finding redemption & beauty on North Carolina’s death row

Dec 17, 2019
Last week, I went to visit a man who has lived on North Carolina’s death row for 19 years. We talked about books and writing and art. He told me about the two plants he dug up from the prison yard and now keeps in his cell. Each morning, he moves them into a patch of light near the window. He plays classical music, because he read that it helps plants grow. As he tends to them, he thinks of his grandmother. He used to tell her she was crazy to talk to her plants. Now, he’s past 50, about the age his grandmother was in his memory, talking to his own plants on death row. He reminded me that our work to end the death penalty isn’t just theoretical. It’s about believing in the possibility of every human life.... Read More →

Finding redemption & beauty on North Carolina’s death row

December 17, 2019 · Kristin Collins

Henry McCollum
Henry McCollum

Last week, I went to visit a man who has lived on North Carolina’s death row for 19 years. We talked about books and writing and art. He told me about the two plants he dug up from the prison yard and now keeps in his cell. Each morning, he moves them into a patch of light near the window. He plays classical music, because he read that it helps plants grow. As he tends to them, he thinks of his grandmother. He used to tell her she was crazy to talk to her plants. Now, he’s past 50, about the age his grandmother was in his memory, talking to his own plants on death row. He reminded me that our work to end the death penalty isn’t just theoretical. It’s about believing in the possibility of every human life…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger

NC case shines rare light on sexism in death penalty jury selection

Oct 9, 2019
Until the middle of the 20th century, the law barred women from jury service. The myth was that women are weak and overly emotional, not rational enough to serve on juries. A brief filed in late September in a North Carolina death penalty case shines a rare light on the persistence of sexist stereotypes in the legal system. Bryan Bell was sentenced to death in Sampson County in 2001. A woman was rejected from his jury because the prosecutor was looking for "strong male" jurors.... Read More →

NC case shines rare light on sexism in death penalty jury selection

October 9, 2019 · Kristin Collins

CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger
CDPL Attorney Elizabeth Hambourger

Until the middle of the 20th century, the law barred women from jury service. The myth was that women are weak and overly emotional, not rational enough to serve on juries. A brief filed in late September in a North Carolina death penalty case shines a rare light on the persistence of sexist stereotypes in the legal system. Bryan Bell was sentenced to death in Sampson County in 2001. A woman was rejected from his jury because the prosecutor was looking for “strong male” jurors…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News, Uncategorized

Two death-sentenced men in NC get another chance to prove innocence

Oct 3, 2019
The state Supreme Court recently agreed with two separate death row prisoners that questionable evidence was used at their trials. Both will get new chances to present evidence that could exonerate them. These cases highlight the fact that many of North Carolina’s more than 140 death sentences are based on weak and even false evidence.... Read More →

Two death-sentenced men in NC get another chance to prove innocence

October 3, 2019 · Kristin Collins

The state Supreme Court recently agreed with two separate death row prisoners that questionable evidence was used at their trials. Both will get new chances to present evidence that could exonerate them. These cases highlight the fact that many of North Carolina’s more than 140 death sentences are based on weak and even false evidence…. Read More →

Filed Under: Latest News

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