Are you part of a religious or spiritual community and/ or do you consider yourself a person of faith who lives in North Carolina? In a state where nearly 80 percent of people identify with a faith tradition, including Governor Cooper, people of faith can be powerful voices for justice. We encourage you to add your name to this letter asking the governor to commute all death sentences to prison terms. Please share the letter with others as well. We hope to have thousands of signatures by the time we deliver this letter to Governor Cooper on August 19, 2023. We are pleased to collaborate with our Coalition partners at the NC Council of Churches in the launch of this letter.
North Carolinians have been working for decades to abolish the death penalty in our state. However, in 2022, our work took on a new urgency as we began a campaign to compel Gov. Cooper to commute all of North Carolina’s death sentences to prison terms before he leaves office in 2024. The governor has broad power to address injustices in the criminal punishment system, and the death penalty is clearly unjust, racist, and error-prone. Our state currently has the fifth largest death row in the nation with more than 135 people, most of whom were sentenced more than 25 years ago under vastly different laws and public standards. This action by the governor would help ensure that no more cruel and inhumane executions will ever be carried out in North Carolina.
This letter is the third letter so far of the NCCADP Commutation Campaign. We began this campaign on December 10th, 2022, with a march, rally, and letter from people who have lost family members to murder. In April 2023 we added a second letter signed by more than 300 North Carolina faith leaders. Our campaign is led by a diverse working group representing organizations across North Carolina, along with people directly impacted by the death penalty, including death row exonerees and people who have lost family members to murder.
Full text of letter:
To: Governor Roy Cooper
From: North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Dear Governor Cooper,
We come to you as people of faith living in North Carolina who believe strongly that the death penalty is racist, immoral, and cruel. We stand behind the leaders of every major religion who have asked you to commute the sentences of all 137 people on North Carolina’s death row. State sponsored execution is an archaic and retributive practice that runs counter to our belief that every human being is sacred. Were North Carolina to return to using its execution chamber, the people of our state would be no safer, but we would be morally and spiritually stained. We humbly ask that you use your power to assure that executions will not be carried out in North Carolina. With such an action, you could lead North Carolina to a new vision of justice, mercy, and public safety.
Thank you for considering our important request.
