FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Liv Perkins-Davenport, Director of Communications & Development, (919) 404-7409, liv@nccadp.org
RALEIGH, N.C. – Twenty years to the day after North Carolina’s last execution, community members will gather for an interfaith service at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church before walking by candlelight to Central Prison, following the same path taken by those who stood vigil on Aug. 18, 2006.
The North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will host Bearing Witness: Interfaith Service & Vigil from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Rabbi Sandra Lawson, executive director of Carolina Jews for Justice, and the Rev. Esther Hethcox, associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Durham, will help lead the evening alongside death row exonerees, other faith leaders, murder victim family members, and people directly impacted by the death penalty.
North Carolina has gone 20 years without an execution, but recent changes to the law have reopened the door to their return. Legislation enacted last year accelerated post-conviction review in capital cases and removed significant legal barriers to carrying out executions. Today, 122 people are on death row.
“Twenty years without an execution is something many of us once could only hope to see,” said Noel Nickle, executive director of NCCADP. “For two decades, North Carolina has responded to violence and harm without putting another person to death. Those years have shown us that justice does not require another killing. Faith communities have been saying that for generations, and their voices matter when we decide whether the state should take a life in our name. On this anniversary, people of faith are calling on North Carolina to make its last execution truly its last.”
Following the service, participants will make the one-mile walk to Central Prison in a silent procession. Outside the prison, directly impacted community members will read the names of the 43 people executed by North Carolina between 1977 and 2006, including Samuel Flippen, the last person executed by the state. Poet Nick Courmon will perform an original spoken-word piece.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available at https://nccadp.org/20th-anniversary/.
WHAT: Bearing Witness: Interfaith Service & Vigil
WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27605
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Members of the media are welcome to cover the interfaith service, procession, and vigil. Contact Liv Perkins-Davenport at (919) 404-7409 or liv@nccadp.org to coordinate interviews.
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The North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (nccadp.org) is a statewide collective of 28 partner organizations working to end the death penalty and advance a vision of justice that addresses harm without perpetuating it.
