By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 4, 2025 / 08:00 am
Outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina commuted the death sentences of 15 people this week but still denied the majority of clemency petitions from prisoners on death row.
Cooper announced on Tuesday that he reviewed 89 clemency petitions from death row inmates and granted 15 of them. Their sentences were commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There are still 121 people on death row in the state.
According to the governor’s office, Cooper reviewed the petitions, sought input from district attorneys, and consulted with the families of the victims prior to granting any commutations.
“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,” Cooper said in 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,” the governor added.
All 15 people were convicted of first-degree murder. The inmates’ ages range from 38 to 67.
Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, praised Cooper’s decision to commute 15 sentences as “an unprecedented advancement in the ongoing shift away from the death penalty in North Carolina and a tremendous step toward honoring human dignity and the sacred value of every human life.”
“As Catholics, we believe each person is created in God’s image, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered,” Murphy said in a statement. “While we celebrate today’s move toward an end to the death penalty in North Carolina, we continue to pray for those who remain on death row.”
Murphy cited No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that “‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and [the Church] works with determination for its abolition worldwide,” quoting a speech from Pope Francis.
“By commuting these death sentences to life without parole, Gov. Cooper has given each of these 15 individuals a tangible sign of hope and a chance for rehabilitation,” Murphy added.
The Catholic Mobilizing Network works closely with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on efforts to oppose the death penalty and uphold the human dignity of people who are incarcerated.
North Carolina last executed someone on death row in 2006. Ongoing litigation has kept the death penalty on hold since the August 2006 execution of Samuel Flippen, according to the governor’s office.
Outgoing President Joe Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 federal prisoners on death row last week. The president declined to commute the death sentences of three prisoners.
