Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Name(Required)
Email(Required)
Address(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Committed to ending the death penalty and creating a new vision of justice

  • Who We Are
    • Mission & History
    • Our Values
    • People Most Proximate
    • Coalition Members
    • Staff, Board, & Advisory Council
    • Our Funders
  • What We Do
  • Why End the Death Penalty?
    • Column 1
      • Racism
      • Innocence
      • Intellectual Disability & Mental Illness
    • Column 2
      • Public Safety
      • High Cost of Death
      • Waning Support
    • Column 3
      • Lethal Injection
      • Antiquated Sentences
      • Unfair Trials
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Commutations Campaign
  • Get Involved
  • Donate

Search NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

Jonathan Hoffman

Learn more: Death is far more expensive than life

At the urging of a DA who often wore a noose-shaped lapel pin, an all-white jury sentenced Jonathan Hoffman to death.

In 1995, Danny Cook was found shot to death in his Union County jewelry store. Police had no leads until months later, when an anonymous tip led them to Jonathan. There was no physical evidence linking Jonathan to the murder, and when the case went to trial in 1996, the only evidence came from witnesses who said Jonathan confessed the crime to them.

One witness was a folk healer who claimed to have sold Jonathan a special root that would protect him from arrest. The star witness, however, was Jonathan’s cousin, Johnell Porter, who received thousands of dollars, immunity for crimes he admitted on the witness stand, and a reduced sentence for a bank robbery he committed. Prosecutors made the deal in secret, hiding it from both the jury and the judge.

Prosecutors Ken Honeycutt and Scott Brewer were later criminally and civilly investigated for not revealing the deals promised to the witness — and for removing a reference to the deal from the case notes they handed over to the judge. After the secret deal was exposed, a judge granted Jonathan a new trial in 2004. In 2006, Johnell told the Charlotte Observer that he lied at Jonathan’s trial to get revenge on his cousin, because he believed Jonathan had stolen money from him and gotten him in trouble with the police.

Prosecutors finally agreed to drop all charges against Jonathan in 2007.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Footer

Contact

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

Follow Us on Instagram

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
On this day in 1976, the Supreme Court gave the de On this day in 1976, the Supreme Court gave the death penalty a green light, and the modern machinery of state-sanctioned execution was born.

In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court reversed its earlier decision in Furman v. Georgia and ruled that capital punishment could be constitutional if applied "fairly."

Nearly 50 years later, we know the truth. It's still racist, arbitrary, and unjust.

Swipe through to learn how Gregg v. Georgia reshaped the death penalty and how that legacy still haunts our legal system today.

#DeathPenalty #GreggvGeorgia #CriminalJusticeReform #EndTheDeathPenalty #AbolishTheDeathPenalty #FurmanvGeorgia #SupremeCourt #JusticeNotDeath
Follow on Instagram

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design

Notifications