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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

  • 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
  • The Pledge
  • Blog
  • Commutations Campaign
  • Get Involved
  • Donate

Search NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty

What We Do

As a grassroots movement to end the North Carolina death penalty, we are focused on building relationships, educating the public, and decreasing death sentences.

Building Relationships 

We prioritize getting to know one another and networking! We meet quarterly as a statewide coalition on Zoom and host in person and virtual events throughout the year. Currently, we host an Info Session and a Family Survivor Engagement Group which both meet monthly. Learn about upcoming meetings and events here. Sign up here to receive our monthly email newsletter. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to stay up to date.

Educating the Public 

We believe the more people know about the death penalty, the less likely they are to support it. One of our primary educational organizing tools is Racist Roots. This comprehensive project, produced by our partners at The Center for Death Penalty Litigation, has now been distilled into a 25-minute video, which details the NC death penalty’s systemic racism. We facilitate Racist Roots screenings and panel discussion groups across the state. (Email to schedule a presentation.)

Decreasing Death Sentences

Until there is a more promising path to legislative repeal of the death penalty in North Carolina, we are actively working with Coalition partner organizations and local communities to decrease the number of people sentenced to death. We use a variety of tactics to engage North Carolinians to persuade elected officials to reduce death sentences. We recently completed our Commutation Campaign, which resulted in Governor Cooper commuting 15 death sentences to prison terms. We also maintain this website as a valuable resource for data, information, and compelling stories.

NCCADP is also supporting organizing efforts around the Racial Justice Act, which offers the possibility of broad relief through the courts. We also engage and educate communities about district attorneys and their role in the death penalty. Additionally, we offer resources and support for community organizations, leaders, and defense teams in pursuit of reducing the number of capital trials and removing people from death row. (See a map of the current status of the NC death penalty.)

Last Updated: January 17, 2025

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Contact

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

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"You're never too old to learn. You're never too y "You're never too old to learn. You're never too young to teach." – another pearl of wisdom shared by NC death row exoneree, Ed Chapman

Last week, we had the tremendous pleasure of joining students and community members at UNC Chapel Hill to screen "Racist Roots" and hear from Ed about his experience surviving 14 years wrongfully convicted under a sentence of death.

Thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Club at UNC (@wccunc) and the Carolina Justice Initiative (@carolinajusticeinitiative) for sponsoring this event and continually advocating for justice.

#EndTheDeathPenalty #NoMoreDeathRow #NCDeathPenalty #NorthCarolina #UNC
Ed Chapman holds a map that helped save his life. Ed Chapman holds a map that helped save his life.

Nearly 14 years after being sent to death row for a crime he did not commit, this map of Hickory, North Carolina became part of the evidence that proved his innocence. It was developed through years of relentless work alongside his mitigation specialist and law students who refused to give up on his case.

Those 14 years on the row were filled with loss. The men around him became family, and 37 of them were taken, one by one, to the execution chamber. Through it all, Ed kept fighting to come home. He was exonerated in 2008.

A new law in North Carolina  limits the appeals process to just two years. It took Ed 14.

We cannot accept a system that runs out the clock on innocence.

#NCCADP #EndTheDeathPenalty #AbolitionNC #JusticeNC #WrongfulConviction #NoMoreDeathRow
“Me personally, I live death row every day,” Ed Ch “Me personally, I live death row every day,” Ed Chapman shared during our Racist Roots screening at Duke University.

Ed spoke about being wrongfully convicted and losing 14 years of his life to death row after his innocence was deliberately buried by law enforcement in Catawba County.

We're grateful to Duke Partnership for Service (@@duke.dps), Duke Human Rights Center at the Franklin Humanities Institute (@dukehumanrightscenter), and Duke students Rohan, Lameese, and Grace for helping to make this evening possible. Thanks to all who showed up to learn alongside us.

Racist Roots is a project of The Center for Death Penalty Litigation (@centerfordeathpenaltylit).

#NoMoreDeathRow #EndTheDeathPenalty #Duke #NCCADP #RacistRoots
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