North Carolina Governor Reduces 15 Death Row Sentences
In one of his last moves before leaving office, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men convicted of first-degree murder, changing their punishment to life in prison without parole.
The decision, made on Tuesday, reduced the state’s death row population by over 10%.
On Wednesday, Cooper will pass the torch to fellow Democrat Josh Stein, who will take the oath of office as governor. Barred from seeking a third consecutive four-year term, Cooper steps down after eight years of leadership.
Reflecting on his recent clemency decisions, Cooper, who served as North Carolina’s attorney general for 16 years before becoming governor, emphasized the care and deliberation behind each decision. He explained that the process involved an exhaustive review of petitions submitted by defendants, along with input from prosecutors and the families of victims.
As of Tuesday, North Carolina’s death row housed 136 inmates. Cooper’s office confirmed that clemency petitions had been received from 89 of them. Each case was evaluated based on various factors, including the inmate’s behavior while incarcerated, the quality of their legal representation, and how their sentences compared to those of co-defendants.
“These decisions are among the hardest a governor faces, as the death penalty represents the most severe punishment the state can impose,” Cooper said in a statement. “After careful review, deep reflection, and prayer, I determined that commuting the death sentences of these 15 individuals was the right course of action. They will now spend the remainder of their lives in prison.”
North Carolina is one of 27 states that have the death penalty as a criminal punishment, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, although governors in five of those states currently have placed executions on hold. While North Carolina is not one of those five, an execution hasn’t been carried out in the state since 2006.
The number of people sentenced to death in North Carolina has dropped significantly in recent years, thanks to state laws giving prosecutors more discretion in deciding whether to pursue capital cases. Despite this decline, North Carolina still holds the fifth-largest death row population in the country, according to the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
While some anti-death penalty advocates had called on Governor Cooper to commute the sentences of everyone on death row, they still applauded his recent act of clemency, describing it as a historic step. Records from the State Department of Adult Correction show that 13 of the 15 individuals granted clemency are Black, with their convictions dating back to periods between 1993 and 2011.
“Governor Cooper joins the ranks of courageous leaders who have used their executive power to confront the failures of the death penalty,” said Chantal Stevens, executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, in a separate statement.
“The death penalty in our state has long been plagued by racial bias, injustice, and immorality. Today’s action by the Governor marks a turning point and moves North Carolina toward a more just future.”
This year, Cooper gained national attention as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
In 2017, Stein succeeded Cooper as attorney general, overseeing an office that actively participates in death penalty appeals.
Among the 15 individuals who received commutations on Tuesday was Hasson Bacote. Convicted of first-degree murder in 2009 in Johnston County, Bacote had been challenging his death sentence under the 2009 Racial Justice Act.
The law, which allowed death row prisoners to argue for life sentences without parole if they could prove racial bias influenced their sentencing, was repealed in 2013. However, the state Supreme Court later ruled that most prisoners on death row could still seek relief under the act retroactively.
Bacote’s recent hearing, based on the Racial Justice Act, has been seen as a key test case. Advocacy groups supporting his litigation expressed confidence on Tuesday, stating they still expect a ruling in his case due to the significant public interest it has garnered.
Another commutation was granted to Guy LeGrande, whose execution was halted in late 2006 after a judge cited his “severe mental illness.” LeGrande was convicted in Stanly County for the 1993 murder of a woman, in a plot orchestrated by her estranged husband, who promised LeGrande a share of life insurance proceeds.
Christopher Roseboro, another death row inmate granted clemency, was convicted in 1992 of the murder and rape of a 72-year-old Gastonia woman.
Last week, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates, converting their penalties to life imprisonment.
Separately on Tuesday, Cooper announced the commutations of two prisoners convicted of murder, making them immediately eligible for parole. One has served 34 years behind bars, while the other has served 27 years.