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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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Levon “Bo” Jones

Learn more: Death is far more expensive than life

NC death row exonoree Bo Jones

Levon “Bo” Jones served 15 years in prison, 13 of those on death row, after being wrongfully convicted of robbery and murder. The state’s case was based almost entirely on the testimony of a single witness, who presented at least five conflicting stories to police throughout the course of the investigation. Despite widespread recognition of Bo’s innocence prior to his exoneration, he was not freed until the witness officially recanted her testimony in 2008.

Many people on death row have been sent there by the testimony of a single witness. Often, it’s a person with something to gain: testimony in exchange for a cash reward or a reduced sentence for their own crime. A number of the men and women sentenced with such flimsy evidence remain on death row today. But Bo was lucky enough to find a judge who recognized that the evidence against him was flimsy and unconvincing. The judge freed Bo in 2006, thirteen years after he was sentenced to death.

Leamon Grady, 67, was robbed and shot in his Duplin County home in 1987. Police failed to collect key evidence from the crime scene, like fingerprints and blood samples, so were without a suspect for three years. Only after they posted a $4,000 reward for information did Bo’s ex-girlfriend, Lovely Lorden, come forward to say Bo was the culprit. Lovely gave shifting stories of a robbery that, on first telling, Bo committed alone, but then expanded to involve several people. At Bo’s trial, the jury never heard about the $4,000 reward Lovely received for her testimony.

Lovely officially recanted her testimony in 2008, saying that officers coached her and threatened her with arrest if she did not testify against Bo. Bo was one of three men who were wrongfully convicted based on Lovely’s accusations, but the only one sentenced to death. All three have now been exonerated.

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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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Why are you showing up on August 16? Meet Erica Wa Why are you showing up on August 16? Meet Erica Washington, NCCADP's Board Co-Chair and one of many voices committed to building a future without the death penalty.

On August 16, Erica will join us at We Keep Us Alive to honor the 43 lives taken by the state and imagine what justice could look like without state violence.

Hear from her, participate in abolition-focused workshops, and march to Central Prison for a vigil. Join us on August 16!

🗓️ August 16 | 2–6 PM
📍 Pullen Memorial Baptist Church | Raleigh, NC

RSVP at bit.ly/WeKeepUsAlive or at the link in our bio. We can't wait to see you there!
Every dollar propping up the state's death program Every dollar propping up the state's death program is a dollar that can't be used for public goods and services. Studies across all 50 states have shown that funding public goods and services reduces rates of both property and violent crime.

On the other hand, studies have found no evidence that capital punishment reduces murder rates. Instead, the death penalty leaves grieving families, traumatized children, and broken communities in its wake.

#NoMoreDeathRow #EndTheDeathPenalty #19YearsWithout
When a state preserves the right to take a human's When a state preserves the right to take a human's life, every other form of state harm seems justifiable in comparison. In this context, the ongoing assault on human rights, civil rights, basic social supports, education, the environment... it all starts to make a little more sense. 

All forms of oppression are connected. It's time to end the death penalty. For good.

#EndTheDeathPenalty #NoMoreDeathRow #19YearsWithout
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