Gov. Roy Cooper commutes 15 death sentences in final act

COURTESY HASSON BACOTE

Attorneys for Hasson Bacote, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2009, presented evidence linking North Carolina's application of the death penalty to the state's history of racial terror. Bacote's appeal is permitted under the Racial Justice Act.

Gov. Roy Cooper commuted 15 death sentences to life without parole on his last day in office, an unprecedented act of clemency in North Carolina.

The commutations, which will result in life sentences, are triple the number granted since creation of the state’s death penalty law in 1976. Those five all were declared shortly before execution of sentence and no previous governor commuted more than two.

“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.”

North Carolina hasn’t carried out an execution since 2006.

Every Democratic governor in a state with capital punishment has taken executive action to limit executions, including imposing a moratorium, commuting sentences or supporting legislation. Republican governors in Tennessee and Ohio have done likewise.

“This action is smaller than we asked for, but it is still a historic step by a North Carolina governor to address injustice in the death penalty. The 15 men granted clemency today include people affected by racism in their trials, people who were sentenced under outdated laws, and those who committed crimes at very young ages, among other inequities,” Noel Nickle, executive director of the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, which has lobbied Cooper to commute death sentences said in a statement. “We are grateful that Gov. Cooper heard our calls for action. Many thousands of North Carolinians from all walks of life support this decision.”

All but one inmate is a person of color and 14 were convicted before 2001 when reforms were initiated to prevent wrongful convictions. The commutations leave North Carolina with 121 people on death row – fifth-most among states.

“By commuting 15 death row sentences, Gov. Cooper has demonstrated moral courage and leadership. His decisions in these cases not only recognize the deep flaws in our capital punishment system but also appropriately raise important questions about the future of the death penalty in North Carolina,” said Jake Sussman, chief counsel for Justice System Reform at Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham. “These commutations demonstrate a straightforward effort, in a handful of cases, to address some of the many injustices that persist in the administration of the death penalty.” 

One of the commutations was issued to Nasir al-din Siddiq, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for shooting and killing Jewel Braswell a year earlier. At the time of the crime, Siddiq, formerly Lawrence Peterson, suffered from major depressive disorder with psychotic features. Siddiq was first deemed incompetent to stand trial but sentenced without introduction of his history of auditory and visual hallucinations or abuse he suffered as a child to the jury. Siddiq expressed remorse for killing Braswell and apologized to her family.

“By removing the threat of execution, Governor Cooper has affirmed that although he will spend the rest of his life in prison, Nasir al-din Siddiq’s life has value,” said Sarah Holladay, who represents Siddiq along with Sussman.

Each commutation was connected to an unfair conviction involving racial bias, mental illness or inadequate counsel, according to death penalty opponents. At least eight defendants were younger than 21 years old at the time of their offense, and many of the prosecutions occurred before statewide reforms like the Racial Justice Act reduced the number of death sentences. 

Earlier this year, attorneys for Hasson Bacote, who was sentenced to death in Johnston County in 2009, presented evidence linking between the death penalty and the North Carolina’s history of racial terror in a hearing under the Racial Justice Act. Bacote’s appeal is the first RJA case heard since 2020, when the state Supreme Court ruled that despite the law’s repeal in 2013, all RJA claims remain valid.

“I’m deeply grateful that North Carolina has now been added to the list, given that we have one of the largest death rows in the nation and some of the most glaring evidence of racism in capital sentencing that’s ever been presented in a courtroom,” said Jay Ferguson of Durham, lead attorney on Bacote’s case. “In light of the sweeping evidence of race discrimination that we brought forward under the Racial Justice Act, North Carolina must never allow another execution.”

Said Sussman: “121 people remain on North Carolina’s death row. Those cases, too, are marked by racial bias, poor lawyering, mental illness, and the arbitrary nature of how the death penalty has been applied in this state. Gov. Cooper’s commitment to fairness and justice in these cases sets a powerful example for future administrations in North Carolina and the nation.” 

This story corrects the city where attorney Jay Ferguson practices law.
 
 

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