North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper recently announced that he has commuted the sentences of 15 inmates sent to death row without parole.
Announced as part of the governor’s last day, the 15 commutations are considered to be the “first of this scale” in the state. North Carolina is known as having the fifth largest death row in the nation.
While opponents of the death penalty have encouraged Gov. Cooper to commute the sentences of all 136 prisoners who are currently on death row in the state, no one has been executed in North Carolina since 2006.
The latest commutations came after Superior Court Judge Warland Sermonds Jr. re-investigated the sentence of 37-year-old Hasson Bacote. In 2009, Bacote was sentenced to death for murder by 10 white and two Black jurors.
Under the Racial Justice Act of 2009, Bacote sought to challenge his sentence by advocating that racial bias was a factor in the outcome of his case. Per his lawyer, historically, in the county, Black jurors were excluded from the jury at a rate that was three times that of white jurors. The death penalty, as a result, was 1.5 times more likely to be given to Black defendants.
“These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” said Governor Cooper per a statement. “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.”
Race should not play a role in who lives or dies.
— Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) June 13, 2024
In Johnston County, North Carolina, the cards are stacked against Black defendants like Hasson Bacote.
LDF is representing Mr. Bacote in a trial that could impact death penalty cases across the state: https://t.co/ehr1JMmf4v pic.twitter.com/2jsfEfPvWL
The announcement that Gov. Cooper has commuted the sentences of 15 people on death row comes a week after President Biden announced that he commuted the sentences of 37 people on federal death row.
The commutations were done under the president’s clemency authority. Only three people were not part of the commutations as they were involved in cases of hate-fueled mass murder and terrorism.
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” said President Biden in an official statement released alongside the announcement, “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
