Statement from Noel Nickle, executive director of the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:
“We commend President Biden for his leadership in commuting 37 death sentences, including three people sentenced to federal death row from North Carolina. This historic action cements President Biden’s legacy as one of fairness and mercy. We continue to ask Governor Roy Cooper to do the same here in North Carolina during the eight days remaining in his term. The need for action in North Carolina is just as urgent as at the federal level. Executions will likely resume in NC unless the governor takes the brave step of commuting racist and unjust death sentences to prison terms.
“Since launching our Commutation Campaign in December 2022, we have built a strong and diverse coalition that will fully support Governor Cooper taking this critical action. Our members include more than a dozen statewide advocacy organizations and thousands of individuals, including faith leaders, elected officials and civil rights leaders. This campaign has been led by people directly affected by the death penalty, people who have lost loved ones to homicide and execution along with death row exonerees and family members. All these voices and thousands more urge Governor Cooper to seize his unique opportunity to save the 136 lives of those sentenced to death in North Carolina.”
