NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Working for alternatives that are fair, victim-centered and cost effective

  • Home
  • About
    • About NCCADP
    • Partners
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Issues
    • Innocence
    • Cost
    • Arbitrary Use
    • Lethal Injection
    • Failure to Deter Crime
    • Failure to Serve Victims
    • Intellectual Disabilities & Mental Illness
    • Improper Evidence & Unfair Trials
    • Mandatory Pursuit of the Death Penalty
    • Racial Bias
    • Declining Public Support
    • Wrongful Capital Prosecutions
  • Stories from Death Row
  • In the Media
  • Learn More
    • On Trial for their Lives: Case Database
    • Links & Resources
    • Geographic Disparities Map
  • Get Involved
  • Donate

A juror’s dilemma: The wrenching job of deciding another person’s right to live

November 9, 2017 By Kristin Collins 1 Comment

A juror’s dilemma: The wrenching job of deciding another person’s right to live

A little-known aspect of the death penalty is its impact on jurors who must make life-and-death decisions without any of their usual support networks. For jurors, seeking trusted advice and doing independent research is an understandable impulse — but it’s also against the law.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Arbitrary Use, Blog, Homepage Left Tagged With: Bible, Death Penalty, federal court, jury misconduct

Why North Carolina’s death penalty is not for the “worst of the worst”

May 16, 2017 By Kristin Collins 2 Comments

Why North Carolina’s death penalty is not for the “worst of the worst”

Prosecutors might tell you they need the death penalty to punish the “worst of the worst.” But in practice, that’s not how the death penalty is used in North Carolina. Our state spends millions each year to pursue death sentences that are arbitrary and unnecessary, and uses the threat of death as a negotiation tactic to pressure defendants to accept plea bargains — sometimes putting innocent lives on the line.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Arbitrary Use, Blog, Crime Lab, Declining Use, False Evidence, Guest Posts, Homepage Right, Innocence, National News

Former AG who sent inmates to execution: ‘I’m about to change my mind’ on the death penalty

October 7, 2015 By Kristin Collins Leave a Comment

Former AG who sent inmates to execution:  ‘I’m about to change my mind’ on the death penalty

Edmisten says death penalty is as arbitrary as “Russian roulette.” His comments come two weeks after Rep. Jon Hardister became the first N.C. Republican legislator to announce his opposition to the death penalty. Support for the death penalty is quickly eroding in N.C.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Abolition, Arbitrary Use, Blog, Conservatives, Homepage Right, Uncategorized

In CA and NC, death penalty is “empty promise”

July 17, 2014 By Kristin Collins 2 Comments

In CA and NC, death penalty is “empty promise”

Yesterday, a California court confirmed what we have known in North Carolina for years: The death penalty is so dysfunctional as to be not just unconstitutional, but futile. Most of the condemned live on death row for decades, making the punishment a costly farce.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Arbitrary Use, Blog, Crime Deterrence, Declining Use, Homepage Left, Innocence, National News, Statistics

8 Reasons Why Executing People is More Trouble Than It’s Worth

May 13, 2014 By Kristin Collins 1 Comment

8 Reasons Why Executing People is More Trouble Than It’s Worth

Do the legislators who want to restart executions in N.C. know what they’re suggesting? A primer on why we must find alternatives to the death penalty.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Abolition, Arbitrary Use, Blog, Cost, Crime Deterrence, Homepage Right, Innocence, Lethal Injection, Mental Disabilities, Public Opinion, Racial Bias

The 2 Percent: Few counties fill death row

October 3, 2013 By Kristin Collins Leave a Comment

The 2 Percent: Few counties fill death row

The death penalty is perceived as a widely-used criminal justice tool in the United States. However, a new report shows that the majority of death sentences and executions come from only 2 percent of U.S. counties. North Carolina follows a similar pattern.

Click here to read more.

Filed Under: Arbitrary Use, Blog, Cost, Declining Use, Homepage Left, National News, Statistics

New Website: On Trial for their Lives

New Website: On Trial for their Lives

Wrongful capital prosecutions are putting innocent people in danger of execution. Check out our new website tracking cases where people were targeted with the death penalty despite evidence too weak to prove their guilt.

Search

Featured Story

Kenneth Neal

His defense attorney was a recently convicted child pornographer who failed to present evidence of Neal’s significant intellectual disability.

Death Penalty Issues

  • Innocence
  • Cost
  • Failure to Deter Crime
  • Failure to Serve Victims
  • Mental Illness
  • Improper Evidence & Unfair Trials
  • Racial Bias
  • Arbitrary Use
  • Declining Public Support
  • Wrongful Capital Prosecutions

Copyright © 2018 NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty | Website by Tomatillo Design