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 […]

NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Committed to ending the death penalty and creating a new vision of justice
· Kristin Collins
· Kristin Collins
The families of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha lost their children in a terrible and senseless crime that terrorized the entire Muslim community. Still, they have chosen the path of light and love. They opened a community center for young Muslim people in a house that Barakat once owned. They started an annual interfaith food drive in the victims’ honor. And this week they supported the Durham DA’s decision not to pursue the death penalty at their killer’s trial…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
In today’s world, it’s easy to think politicians on both sides of the aisle care only about their own power and reelection chances. But every once in a while, we see an act of moral leadership that renews our faith in government. This week, it happened in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he would dismantle the death chamber and grant the state’s nearly 750 death row inmates a reprieve. They will remain incarcerated but will no longer live under the threat of execution. It was a stunning move in a state with the nation’s largest death row. North Carolina, too, should make the enlightened choice to put an official end to the death penalty. … Read More →
· Kristin Collins
In 2018, for the second year in a row, juries didn’t hand down any new death sentences. We shouldn’t underestimate how significant that is in a state that, in the 1990s, sent dozens of people to death row every year. Executions remained on hold for a twelfth year. And even our state’s district attorneys have begun to flag in their enthusiasm for death sentences. … Read More →
· Kristin Collins
Last week, Washington became the 20th state to end the death penalty after its Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment is arbitrary and racially biased. If those are reasons to outlaw the death penalty, then it is surely time for the North Carolina death penalty to go. If anything, the death penalty in NC is more racist, more arbitrary, and threatens the lives of far more people…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
After 12 years without an execution, many people believe the North Carolina death penalty is dead. That might be true — if it weren’t for the more than 140 people still on death row. A new report shows that, by today’s standards, most of them shouldn’t be there…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
Even with the number of death sentences slowed to a trickle, our state still can’t get it right in death penalty cases. The N.C. Supreme Court has just overturned the sentence of of a death row prisoner from Forsyth County, saying there was ample evidence that he had intellectual disabilities and mental illness that should have moved the jury to spare him from execution…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day in Wake County. Every year begins with a capital trial, and every year, the jury chooses life. Wake is the only county in the state where a defendant has been tried capitally every year for the past three years. We’re hoping that, next year, we can skip this annual ritual…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
In 2017, N.C. juries rejected the death penalty, more innocent people were released from death row, and public support for executions fell to a 45-year low. As we look to 2018, let’s skip the outdated death penalty rhetoric and start looking for solutions that actually make people safer — like properly staffing prisons and supplying guards with working radios…. Read More →
· Kristin Collins
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…. Read More →
Day 2 of an important hearing in KS. Focus on systemic racism and jury selection for death penalty trials. Thanks @brianwstull for keeping us posted #RacistRoots twitter.com/brianwst…
Creating a new vision of justice starts with a new vision of safety! twitter.com/Emancipa…
Curious about this approach. What would you share?Want to help The N&O deepen criminal justice reporting? Share tips here. newsobserver.com/new…
Discrimination is not an accident. Prosecutors are trained for it. Follow the link for details on how to attend or watch this case before our state's highest court on Feb 8. #RacistRoots #NCDeathPenalty #CooperCommute twitter.com/RDunhamD…
RT @Kelan_Lyons They packed the courtroom early, filling so many seats that a line stretched out the door. In the past, many of the onlookers had been in handcuffs, jails and prison cells. Now, they wanted access to the ballot box A @NCPolicyWatch/@boltsmag collaboration ncpolicywatch.com/20…