- 121 people on death row.
- Nearly 60% are people of color.
- Nearly half were sentenced by overwhelmingly white juries.
- 2 times more likely to be sentenced to death if victim of the murder is white.
- 12 innocent people exonerated.
- 11 exonerees are people of color.
- 43 people executed since 1976.
- 2006: the last year someone was executed.
- 2025: the last year someone was sentenced to death.
- 75+ capital trials since 2010, but only about 1 in 5 (18 trials) ended with death sentences.
- 17 capital trials are scheduled for 2026.
- $2.16 million average additional cost for each case resulting in execution vs. sentenced to life in prison.
Each of these facts is more than a number. They represent real people for whom there are extending circles of harm and trauma.
The Death Penalty in NC Depends on Where You Are
Hover on a county to see the raw numbers that reveal the stark reality of the geographic disparity of the death penalty in our state. From the number of people living on death row to capital cases scheduled for trial, location matters. This disparity is largely driven by the power and discretion of locally elected district attorneys. View a larger version of this map.
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