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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

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    • Column 1
      • Racism
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      • Intellectual Disability & Mental Illness
    • Column 2
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      • High Cost of Death
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    • Column 3
      • Lethal Injection
      • Antiquated Sentences
      • Unfair Trials
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Mental Illness

Juveniles and people with intellectual disabilities are legally exempt from the death penalty because of their diminished capacity to understand and control their actions. Serious mental illness can reduce culpability in the same way, yet North Carolina offers few protections. For example, there is no law allowing judges to remove the death penalty from consideration because of mental illness, and defendants can mount an “insanity” defense before a jury, but juries rarely grant relief on this basis.

Some of the people who have been sentenced to death in North Carolina have schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders that can cause delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and disruption of memory and perception. Some are suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, either because they are war veterans or suffered severe childhood trauma.

It is exceedingly difficult for defendants with severe mental illnesses to receive a fair trial. Many defendants with mental illnesses are paranoid and distrustful of their attorneys, leaving them unable to provide their defense team with critical information. Some cannot remember what may have happened or where they were. Additionally, if they are taking psychotropic medications to control their illness, they may appear apathetic and remorseless at trial; if they fail to take these medications, however, defendants may become belligerent or frightening in front of the jury.

Across the US, the majority of people executed have suffered under the weight of mental illnesses.

Last Updated: February 16, 2022

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NCCADP
3326 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
Building D, Suite 201
Durham, NC 27707
noel@nccadp.org
919-404-7409

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Did you know that NC hasn't executed anyone in alm Did you know that NC hasn't executed anyone in almost 19 years? Still, though, the state preserves this punishment, costing North Carolinians millions of dollars a year to hold onto this brutal relic of our past. 

Join us for a virtual info session to learn about the current state of the death penalty in North Carolina and to find your place in the movement to end it.

The death penalty doesn't make North Carolina safer. It targets those who are most vulnerable and is deeply rooted in racism and ableism. It's time for the law to catch up with what we already know: North Carolina doesn't need and doesn't want the death penalty. 

Register at bit.ly/NCCADPJuly2025 or at the link in our bio. We can't wait to see you on Tuesday, July 22 at 7 PM over Zoom. 

The movement needs you. Start here.
Today, we honor the 1974 Raleigh march that saw th Today, we honor the 1974 Raleigh march that saw thousands stand united and unwavering against the death penalty. 

Led by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and speakers like Angela Davis, the crowd called out a system that was rapidly condemning people to die – disproportionately Black, poor, and silenced.

Fifty-one years later, we honor the courage of these protestors and carry their fight forward. Freedom means ending the systems that cage and kill. 

The death penalty has no place in a truly free society. Not then. Not now.

Happy July 4! 

Photos courtesy of the NC State University Special Collections Research Center.

#IndependenceDay #EndTheDeathPenalty #July4 #NoMoreDeathRow
Last week, we gathered with dear friends to fuel t Last week, we gathered with dear friends to fuel the journey toward justice. We were reminded of the power of community.

A huge thank you to Gerda Stein and Lee Norris for hosting us and to @brittonbuchanan for the beautiful music – thank you for making this evening possible!

Thank you to everyone who joined us and to all who walk this path beside us. 💛

#FuelTheJourney #nccadp #EndTheDeathPenalty #NoMoreDeathRow  #AbolishTheDeathPenalty
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