04 January 2025 :
December 31, 2024 - North Carolina. Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 of the 136 Prisoners on Death-Row.
On December 31, 2024, during his last day in office, outgoing North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men on the state’s death row to life in prison without parole. “These reviews are among the most difficult decision a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” said Gov. Cooper in a statement following the announcement of the commutations. “After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.” Gov. Cooper’s grants of clemency come a week after President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. With actions from both executives, the year ended with more than twice as many grants of clemency (52) as executions (25).
Before Gov. Cooper’s decision, only five individuals in North Carolina had their death sentences reduced to life imprisonment since 1976. No NC governor had previously commuted more than two death sentences, and all prior commutations occurred just before a scheduled execution. “The 15 men granted clemency include people affected by racism in their trials, people who were sentenced under outdated laws, and those who committed crimes at very young ages, among other inequities,” said Noel Nickle, executive director of the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NCCADP). “We are grateful that Gov. Cooper heard our calls for action. Many thousands of North Carolinians from all walks of life support this decision.”
89 of the 136 individuals on the state’s death row had applied for clemency to the Governor’s Office. According to Gov. Cooper’s office, many factors were considered before final decisions were made, including: facts and circumstances of the crime; input from prosecutors in the county of the conviction and victims’ family members; credible claims of innocence; racial bias in jury selection; evidence, and testimony; and capital punishment laws at the time of the individual’s conviction.
The men who received clemency are:
Hasson Bacote, 38, convicted in Johnston County in 2009.
Iziah Barden, 67, convicted in Sampson County in 1999.
Nathan Bowie, 53, convicted in Catawba County in 1993.
Rayford Burke, 66, convicted in Iredell County in 1993.
Elrico Fowler, 49, convicted in Mecklenburg County in 1997.
Cerron Hooks, 46, convicted in Forsyth County in 2000.
Guy LeGrande, 65, convicted in Stanly County in 1996.
James Little, 38, convicted in Forsyth County in 2008.
Robbie Locklear, 52, convicted in Robeson County in 1996.
Lawrence Peterson, 55, convicted in Richmond County in 1996.
William Robinson, 41, convicted in Stanly County in 2011.
Christopher Roseboro, 60, convicted in Gaston County in 1997.
Darrell Strickland, 66, convicted in Union County in 1995.
Timothy White, 47, convicted in Forsyth County in 2000.
Vincent Wooten, 52, convicted in Pitt County in 1994.
North Carolina still has the fifth largest death row in the nation, with 121 people on the row. The state last carried out an execution in 2006, with the lethal injection execution of Samuel Flippen.
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/in-wake-of-president-bidens-federal-commutations-north-carolina-governor-cooper-grants-clemency-to-15-death-sentenced-prisoners-the-largest-grant-of-capital-clemency-in-state-history
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/g-s1-40663/north-carolina-governor-roy-cooper-commutes-death-row-sentences
https://abc11.com/post/roy-cooper-death-row-commutations-gov-commutes-sentences-15-issues-other-pardons/15734515/
