How we began: Led by directly impacted people, we launched our Commutation Campaign on December 10th, 2022. We walked, sang and chanted through the streets of Raleigh demanding that Governor Cooper commute all death sentences to prison terms before he leaves office at the end of 2024. We walked two miles that day. You can read about that special day and see pictures here. Our movement has grown and expanded in powerful ways since then, and we know Governor Cooper is paying attention.
And now it’s time for us to take our walking to an ambitious and exciting new level!
Introducing our Walk for Commutation: Beginning September 26th, the NCCADP team will walk 136 miles to raise awareness of the 136 lives at risk of execution in North Carolina and to call on Governor Roy Cooper to eliminate that risk by commuting death sentences. Our Walk for Commutation will begin in Winston-Salem and end in Raleigh on October 10th, which is World Day Against the Death Penalty. Our route will begin and end in the two counties, Forsyth and Wake, where more people are sentenced to death than anywhere else in NC.
Over the two weeks, we will gather in the evening for shared meals, film screenings, conversations, and sing-alongs, and of course to write postcards! In addition to planned programs, during the day while walking we will pause at historic and contemporary sites where the racism of our criminal legal system continues to thrive.
What will happen: We will walk on average 10 miles a day, beginning at 10 am. We’ll take a lunch break about noon and then walk again from about 1:30 pm to 4 pm. Sign up here to walk (roll, bike, or drive) with us or to volunteer. Go to our Walk for Commutation Day by Day spreadsheet for a detailed plan for each day, including the route. Stay tuned for information about each program on our events page. Our walk route is still a work in progress but look for more details on the spreadsheet by early September.
So far our events include:
- Sept. 26th, 10 a.m. Kick-off media conference outside Forsyth County Courthouse.
- Sept. 26th, 6:30 p.m. Racist roots film and panel at Community First Center (Winston Salem) with a community potluck (tentative) at 5:30.
- Sept. 29th, 6:30 p.m. Racist Roots film and panel at First Friends Meetinghouse (Greensboro) with a community meal at 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 2nd, 7 p.m. Online program with NCCADP’s Family Engagement Group, open to all.
- Oct. 4th, 6:30 p.m. Racist Roots film with remarks “Joy of Abolition” by Pastor Dewey Williams at Mt. Bright Baptist Church (Hillsborough) with community potluck at 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 5th, 6:30 p.m. Racist Roots film and panel at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (Durham).
- Oct. 6th or 7th TBA in Chapel Hill.
- Oct. 10th, 7 p.m. An evening of music, poetry and stories for World Day Against the Death Penalty at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church (Raleigh).
As we enter the final few months of our Commutation Campaign, we need you now more than ever. If Gov. Cooper uses his power to commute death sentences, we can ensure that executions do not resume. If he fails to act, we could see North Carolina’s execution chamber spring back to life. Please plan now to join our Walk for Commutation. We will conclude this campaign with even more strength and solidarity than when we began, still saying: No more death row!
