North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) on Tuesday commuted the death sentence Coinciding with New Year's Eve and his final day in office, 15 inmates were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
“These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a governor can make, and the death penalty is the most severe penalty a state can impose,” Cooper said in a statement.
The state has not carried out the death penalty since 2006 due to ongoing litigation.
“After thorough consideration, reflection, and prayer, I have concluded that the death penalty imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while also ensuring that they spend the rest of their lives in prison. reached.”
Prisoners and their representatives with complex convictions petition for clemency.
There are currently 136 people on death row in the state, and the Governor's Office of Pardons has received petitions for clemency from 89 of them.
Many of these inmates have petitioned under the 2009 Racial Justice Act, which allows inmates to seek resentencing if racial bias is revealed in legal proceedings that lead to death penalty convictions. did.
Cooper considered a variety of factors, including the defendant's mental competency at the time of the crime, his conduct while incarcerated, and the legal representation provided to him, among other factors, to select a small group of inmates for reduced sentences. He said he had chosen.
His decision came days after President Biden commuted the sentences of federal death row inmates.
Inmates pardoned in North Carolina include:
- Hasson Bacote, 38, convicted in Johnston County in 2009
- Isaiah Baden, 67, convicted in Sampson County in 1999
- Nathan Bowie, 53, convicted in Catawba County in 1993
- Rayford Burke, 66, convicted in Idell County in 1993.
- Jericho Fowler, 49, convicted in Mecklenburg County in 1997
- Theron Fuchs, 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, was convicted in Pitt County in 1994.
