On Thursday, October 10th, World Day Against the Death Penalty, we completed our 136-mile, 15-day Walk for Commutation! That afternoon the NCCADP team was joined by our Coalition partner, Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina, as we walked the last block to arrive at Central Prison. There, we read each of the names of the 136 people currently living on North Carolina’s death row, and in the evening we gathered at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church for a beautiful program of poetry, music, and conversation.
Over the course of the two weeks, from September 26th to October 10th, we focused on numbers and names. Obviously, we walked 136 miles, a mile for each person on the row. But, considering nearly 100 people walked with us at some point along the way, we collectively walked many more miles. We also spotlighted the geographic disparities of the death penalty by naming the 12 people sentenced to death in Forsyth County, the 10 in Wake County, and the fact that no one is sentenced to death in the counties in between – Orange and Durham. We named the people who were executed in each county, those known to have been lynched, and those who have been exonerated. When we reached our 100 mile mark, we acknowledged the approximately 100 people sentenced to death in NC under outdated laws that made wrongful convictions and excessive sentences even more likely than they are now.
We hosted seven local events, including five Racist Roots film screenings, that brought together diverse and engaged community members. We heard from people most directly impacted by the death penalty system and, as always, we wrote postcards to Governor Cooper calling on him to commute all death sentences to prison terms. On October 1st we also spoke at the Orange County Commissioners’ meeting where they unanimously approved a resolution supporting death row commutations.
But more significant than numbers, names, and events, we expanded and strengthened our community in both expected and surprising ways. We were joined along the way by elected officials, religious leaders, families of people on death row, people who lost loved ones to murder, long-time abolitionists, and people new to our movement, all of whom no longer want executions carried out in their names. From front porches to city sidewalks while we waited for the light to change, we encountered everyday North Carolinians, people we would otherwise never have had a chance to meet. Nearly all of them too are ready for our state to end this outdated, racist system that does not keep us safe.
Thank you to everyone who walked with us, hosted or attended a program, watched our daily live streams, or made a donation to support our work. We felt your presence each step of the way, and we could not have completed this journey without you!
Media coverage of our Walk for Commutation:
