The Center for Death Penalty Litigation is North Carolina’s premier nonprofit law firm representing people facing the death penalty and other extreme sentences. We expose and confront racism within the criminal punishment system. Through strategic litigation, education, training, and policy reform, we strive to create a more humane and equitable society. Read more about our work.
What’s New
Historic hearing challenging racial bias in NC’s death penalty concludes with overwhelming evidence of discrimination
A historic Racial Justice Act hearing came to a close Friday after two weeks of testimony that illustrated the discrimination inherent in North Carolina’s death penalty. The evidence showed a clear and persistent pattern of racial bias in jury exclusions that denies people of color the opportunity to serve on capital juries and leads to a disproportionate number of extreme sentences for Black men, as well as a direct line between modern death sentences and the state’s history of racial terrorism.
Another innocent client goes home
On Wednesday, in the middle of a historic Racial Justice Act hearing in Johnston County, CDPL Executive Director Gretchen Engel snuck away to Philadelphia. Her reason? The exoneration of a client who spent nearly 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row. Mr. Gwynn was wrongfully sentenced to death in 1995 for an act of arson that killed one person. District Attorney Larry Krasner agreed to Mr. Gwynn’s release and acknowledged that prosecutors had relied on a false confession that was inconsistent with the facts of the crime. They also suppressed evidence of another suspect, who they now believe set the deadly fire.
The Case Of Hasson Bacote
Hasson Bacote was sentenced to death in a Johnston County courtroom in April 2009. As a Black man in a deeply segregated county with a history of racial terror, Bacote’s fate was all but sealed well before the jury issued his death sentence. Now, his case is moving forward under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act (RJA), which allows capital defendants to challenge their death sentences on the basis that race was a significant factor in their sentences. A hearing will begin Feb. 26 in Johnston County Superior Court and force those watching to grapple with the stark reality that race plays an outsized role in the administration of the death penalty.
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Help us provide the best possible representation to people facing execution and educate the public about the injustice and racist roots of the death penalty. Donate here. Or sign up here to get updates about our work.
Join the Movement
CDPL is a member of the NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. If you want to be a part of the grassroots movement to end the NC death penalty, please visit their website to learn and get involved.
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Do you want to learn about capital defense while working alongside a dedicated staff? If you are a law student looking for a summer internship, learn more here. If you are interested in volunteering, apply here.