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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
  • Blog
  • Get Involved
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National News

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

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

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

After hate-filled murders in N.C., choosing a legacy of love and light over the darkness of the death penalty

Apr 12, 2019
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 →

After hate-filled murders in N.C., choosing a legacy of love and light over the darkness of the death penalty

April 12, 2019 · 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 →

Filed Under: Criminal Justice Reform, Declining Support, Declining Use, Failure to Serve Victims, Latest News, National News

In California, the moral case for ending the death penalty

Mar 14, 2019
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 →

In California, the moral case for ending the death penalty

March 14, 2019 · 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 →

Filed Under: Abolition, Declining Support, Declining Use, Latest News, National News

A young Nathan Bowie, age 4, smiling on a building's front stoop, in Philadelphia

NC, let’s take a hint from Washington: It’s time to end the racist death penalty

Oct 16, 2018
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 →

NC, let’s take a hint from Washington: It’s time to end the racist death penalty

October 16, 2018 · Kristin Collins

A young Nathan Bowie, age 4, smiling on a building's front stoop, in Philadelphia
A young Nathan Bowie, age 4, smiling on a building's front stoop, in Philadelphia

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 →

Filed Under: Abolition, Arbitrary Use, Declining Support, Declining Use, Latest News, Laws have Changed, but Sentences Remain Unexamined, National News, Racial Bias

Time to move on: Calls for death penalty fall flat in N.C.

Dec 14, 2017
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 →

Time to move on: Calls for death penalty fall flat in N.C.

December 14, 2017 · 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 →

Filed Under: Declining Use, Innocence, Latest News, Laws have Changed, but Sentences Remain Unexamined, Lethal Injection, National News, Public Opinion, Statistics

Gallup Poll: The death penalty question they never ask

Oct 30, 2017
The question our society should be asking is not: Do you believe that people who commit murders should be punished? The answer to that is obvious. The question that gets to the heart of the matter is: What’s the fairest, most efficient, and most effective way to punish people who commit the worst crimes? When you ask it that way, the death penalty is clearly not the answer. Click here to read more. ... Read More →

Gallup Poll: The death penalty question they never ask

October 30, 2017 · Kristin Collins

The question our society should be asking is not: Do you believe that people who commit murders should be punished? The answer to that is obvious. The question that gets to the heart of the matter is: What’s the fairest, most efficient, and most effective way to punish people who commit the worst crimes? When you ask it that way, the death penalty is clearly not the answer.

Click here to read more.
… Read More →

Filed Under: Blog, National News, Public Opinion, Statistics

Henry McCollum innocent man on death row

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

May 16, 2017
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 →

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

May 16, 2017 · Kristin Collins

Henry McCollum innocent man on death row
Henry McCollum innocent man on death row

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 →

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

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Contact

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NCCADP
123 West Main St., Suite 700
Durham, NC 27701
noel@nccadp.org
919-956-9545

The Latest via Twitter

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…

About 6 hours ago

Creating a new vision of justice starts with a new vision of safety! twitter.com/Emancipa…

About a day ago

Curious about this approach. What would you share?Want to help The N&O deepen criminal justice reporting? Share tips here. newsobserver.com/new…

About 3 days ago

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…

About 4 days ago

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…

About 4 days ago

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