Dear Governor Cooper,
Please commute all death sentences to prison terms before you leave office. I oppose the death penalty for many reasons, but I especially ask you to consider:
1) Innocent people are on death row. Twelve people have so far been exonerated in NC, and the kinds of mistakes and misconduct that led to those wrongful convictions is common across the state’s death penalty cases. You can ensure that no one is executed before they have time to prove their innocence.
2) The death penalty is racist. It’s no coincidence that 11 of NC’s 12 exonerees are people of color. The death penalty disproportionately punishes Black and Brown people for crimes against white victims. Many on NC’s death row were sentenced by all-white juries because people of color are systematically excluded from death penalty juries.
3) The death penalty is expensive and does not keep us safe. Taxpayers spend millions each year to maintain the costly death penalty even as other urgent needs go unmet. There is absolutely no evidence that the death penalty reduces violence or prevents homicide, making it a failed public safety strategy.
By signing this petition, I add my voice to the thousands of people calling on you to ensure that executions do not resume in my name!
North Carolina has the 5th largest death row in the country with 136 people awaiting execution. North Carolinians have mobilized to ask Gov. Cooper to commute all death sentences to prison terms before he leaves office at the end of 2024. The governor’s action would prevent a wave of unjust executions like those we have seen in other states and at the federal level. But time is running out for him to take this important step toward racial equity, justice, and fairness!
By signing this petition, you add your voice to the thousands of people calling on Gov. Cooper to ensure that executions do not resume in our names!
