RES-1999-070 Resolution Calling for a Moratorium on Executions

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A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS WHEREAS, Throughout the ages, society has sought to use appropriate penalties for crimes committed against citizens; and WHEREAS, In 1972 the United States Supreme Court has ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the procedures used to implement the death penalty were unconstitutional thereby halting executions in this nation until 1976 when the Supreme Court ruled in Gregg v. Georgia that the use of the death penalty could be utilized subject to safeguards for the protection of the rights of the accused; and WHEREAS, The use of the death penalty as a capital punishment for the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing or killing while committing another felony has been deemed appropriate by the people of North Carolina and all of those currently awaiting execution in North Carolina were convicted and sentenced under the state's revised capital punishment law which became effective June 1, 1977; and WHEREAS, Since the reestablishment of the death penalty in North Carolina there have been technological advances, such as use of DNA testing, to assist in the determination of guilt and the enhanced ability of the accused to receive the necessary legal assistance to defend their rights as provided under the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Carolina; and WHEREAS, Even with these advancements, recent events have shown that circumstances do exist in which people convicted of capital crimes have been wrongly accused and sentenced to death even though innocent; and WHEREAS, Further discussion and deliberation of this contentious issue in light of these factors is merited and the need to review the laws of this State and the various court proceedings and rulings affecting the use of this punishment should be undertaken as expeditiously as possible due to the fact that approximately 197 persons in North Carolina are awaiting execution; and WHEREAS, the Senators Eleanor Kinnaird and Howard N. Lee, have sponsored a bill in the 1999 Session of the General Assembly (Senate Bill 1102), establishing a moratorium on executions in North Carolina; and WHEREAS, the Senate has referred the above mentioned bill to the Judiciary Committee II, for further study; and NOW, THEREFORE, THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS RESOLVES: Section 1. The Board of County Commissioners calls on Governor Hunt and our state legislators, President Clinton and our legislators in Congress, to enact and adopt legislation imposing a moratorium on executions--at least until this state and the nation implement policies and procedures which: • Ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with basic due process;