Several times in the past decades, the North Carolina Council of Churches has spoken about the inhumanity and racial bias of capital punishment. We have been on the forefront of this issue for years, from one of our first policy statements in 1970 urging the “abolition of capital punishment” and declaring the “death penalty has been used disproportionately against black people in our society, thereby reflecting classist and racist tendencies in our criminal justice system.”
While North Carolina has not carried out an execution in a decade and a half, other states continue to do so. Meanwhile, prisoners sentenced to death in North Carolina remain on death row, uncertain of their fate.
As Christians, we believe the abolition of the death penalty is a moral imperative.
JOIN US FOR AN UPCOMING WALK FOR COMMUTATION!
136 miles for 136 lives!
Thursday, September 26 – Thursday, October 10
From Winston-Salem to Raleigh
Join the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty for the Walk for Commutation: 136 Miles for 136 Lives. From September 26th to October 10th, participants will walk 136 miles, raising awareness of the 136 lives at risk of execution in North Carolina and urging Governor Roy Cooper to commute death sentences before he leaves office in 2024. Beginning in Winston-Salem and ending in Raleigh on World Day Against the Death Penalty, this route covers the two counties with the highest death sentences in the state. Each day, participants walk an average of 10 miles and gather in the evenings for community meals, film screenings, discussions, and postcard writing. To sign up to walk or volunteer click here. To view the detailed day by day spreadsheet, click here.
Overview
As Christians, we believe the abolition of the death penalty is a moral imperative. In a 1984 policy statement, we said: “We oppose the death penalty because we oppose the spirit of retribution. It is illogical and profoundly irreverent to kill somebody to prove that killing is wrong. . . It creates the illusion of setting things right while in fact creating new victims.”
The execution on Good Friday contrives to be repeated. Innocent people are convicted and murdered by the state. Violence and torture are perpetrated under the guise of security. Brutality is used as a weapon of fear to oppress those who long for freedom. Retribution and vengeance create a continuing cycle of violence. We reject this fetishization of violence and long for a world where Christ’s death puts an end to death, so there will be possibilities for justice and new life.
Key Contact
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director
