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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

Now is the Time!

Now is the Time! Photo by Jenny Warburg
No More Death Row!
Making signs
Some of our youngest supporters are our strongest. Photo by Jenny Warburg
A major focus of the rally was the launch of our Postcard Campaign! More details coming soon.
Writing to Governor Cooper. Photo by Jenny Warburg
On their way to Governor Cooper!
April Barber Scales
Kerwin Pittman
Photo by Jenny Warburg
Nick Courmon performing “Poison Fruit”
The family of Bennie and Lloyd Ray Daniels, teenage cousins who were executed in 1953
Thank you to the Daniels Family for joining us!
Marching around the block at the Governor’s Mansion!
April Barber Scales and the Daniels Family leading the march around the Executive Mansion
Brenda Hooks, whose son Cerron Hooks is currently on NC’s death row. Photo by Jenny Warburg
Photos by Sarah Ovasko, Kristin Collins, Sydney Calas, Shelagh Kenney, Jenny Warburg, and Ricky Covach

On December 2, we once again had hundreds of people in the streets of Raleigh rallying for justice and compassion and telling Gov. Cooper: No more death row in North Carolina! But this time around, our message was more urgent than ever. 

You see, Gov. Cooper is beginning the last year of his term. Now is the time for him to take bold action to ensure that racist death sentences are never carried out in our state!

That’s why we held our Dec. 2 event just outside his mansion and concluded by making a human chain around the governor’s home. We were stating our intention to bring our demands to his doorstep in every way possible in 2024. (Read the News & Observer’s great coverage of our event.)

Photos by Phyllis Nunn

At our event, we kicked off a postcard campaign. Everyone in attendance filled out one of our postcards telling the governor why they believe commuting North Carolina’s death sentences is the right thing to do. We hope Gov. Cooper’s mail room will soon be filled floor to ceiling with postcards asking him to use his power to stop the horror of executions. 

If you weren’t at the event, please make sure you’re on our email list and stay tuned for more info on how to send your postcard.

We also continued to build our community, which is the greatest strength we have. When we join together with our shared determination and hope for justice, we become a powerful force in the world. That’s why we took time to sing and visit together. It’s also why we made sure to lift up the voices of those most impacted by the death penalty, because they are the heart of our community. 

We heard speeches from two formerly incarcerated people: April Barber Scales, who spent more than 30 years in prison for a crime committed at 15, and Kerwin Pittman, who survived the horrors of solitary confinement and is now a leading advocate for decarceration. We were also joined by Ed Chapman and Alfred Rivera, both of whom were exonerated from death row, along with people who’ve lost loved ones to execution and to homicide.

The energy in the air was palpable as we raised our voices together: Now is the time! Commute death row! 

If you haven’t already, please join us in 2024. Every voice makes a difference.