Agenda - 11-03-1999 - 8c - Laserfiche WebLink

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FROM : PFADP FAX NO. : 919 933 5611 Sep. 28 1999 02:30PM Reasons to Support a Moratorium on Executions in N.C. A Moratorium Has Growing Bipartisan Support So far, moratorium resolutions have been supported by more than 550 city councils, universities, civic groups, congregations, and other organizations, including: City of Durham, N.C. Town of Chapel Hill, N.C.* Town of Carrboro, N.C.* 20+ N.C. Congregations N.C. Council of Churches Nebraska State Legislature American Bar Association City of New Haven, Ct. Illinois House of Representatives U.N. Commission for Human Rights City of Mt. Rainier, Md. *unanimous vote Recognizing the injustices inherent in the administration of the death penalty, pro - capital punishment elected officials from N.C. local governments as well as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Republican state legislators through out the country provide bipartisan support for moratoria on executions. A moratorium bill has been introduced into the N.C. General Assembly and is being debated in several other states. Wag Loale Are Sentenced to Death and Executed ✓ Since 1970, 80 people have been freed from death row because they were proven to be innocent by college student and others working outside the justice system. ✓ In North Carolina, at least three people have been released from death row sincel970 because they are innocent. ✓ So far this century at least 23 people have been executed who were later proven to be innocent. ✓ For every seven people executed since 1976, one has been released because of innocence. Death Sentences Are Given to the Poor, Not the Rich ✓ In N.C., about 98 percent of those facing capital charges cannot afford their own attorney. ✓ No state -- including North Carolina —has met standards developed by the American Bar Association for appoint- ment, performance and compensation of counsel for indigent prisoners. The Death Penalty is Applied in a Radst Manner ✓ The U.S. General Accounting Office reports "a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in charging, semen, ing and imposition of the death penalty." (1990) ✓ The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged the validity of data demonstrating the continued reality of racial bias h death sentences. (McCleskey v. Kemp) ✓ In North Carolina, a person charged with killing a white person is 4.4 times more likely to receive the death penalt: ✓ Seventy -six percent of people executed by the State of North Carolina have been African American and 60 percent N.C.'s death row is minority. (N.C. Department of Corrections) ✓ Nationwide, 82 percent of those put to death had been convicted of murdering a white person, even though people color are the victims in more than half of all homicides. Other Reasons to Soaport a Moratorium ✓ More innocent people will be imprisoned and executed because prisoner appeals have been severely curtailed, eves cases where prisoners present compelling evidence of innocence. ✓ In 1996, new legislation drastically limited federal court review of death penalty appeals and gutted public funding legal aid services for death row prisoners. ✓ The U.S. and N.C. violate international laws by executing juveniles and the mentally retarded. ✓ A majority of countries support the UN Commission for Human Rights in calling for a moratorium. For dies of a moratorium resolution, sources for statistics, or more informahbn contact the People of Faith Against the Death Penagtyr at (919) 933 - 7567.1571/2 E. Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, www.pfadp.org, email.• sjd c,pfadp.org