On his way out the door, then-North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 individuals on the Tarheel State’s death row.
Cooper, a Democrat whose name has been floated as one of the party’s topline names for the 2028 presidential contest, acted similarly to outgoing President Biden – who caught heat last week for commuting sentences for almost all federal death row inmates.
“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.”
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No executions have occurred in North Carolina since 2006 due to ongoing litigation.
One of the inmates who saw his sentence commuted to life was felony murder inmate Hasson Bacote. Bacote had originally filed suit in 2010 challenging his death sentence under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act – which reportedly allows defendants to challenge sentences if they can determine racial bias.
Bacote, who is Black, had been convicted of shooting an 18-year-old by a White-majority Johnston County jury.
Rayford Burke, an Iredell County murder convict who received a commutation, also reportedly sought relief under the Racial Justice Act, according to WCNC.
Another commutation recipient, Christopher Roseboro, has been in prison for about 30 years. In 1994, Roseboro was indicted on first-degree rape and other charges stemming from allegations he and another man robbed an elderly neighbor who was later found dead along with evidence she had been sexually assaulted.
The co-defendant, Roger Bell, is already serving a life sentence.
A Union County man, Darrell Strickland, was convicted of manslaughter following a tragic Jan. 1, 1995 argument. He also saw his sentence commuted to life without parole.
Vincent Wooten, a Pitt County man sentenced for the 1993 murder of Edward Wilson, also saw his sentence commuted, according to the Greenville Daily Reflector.
Wooten, then 20, saw evidence presented at his trial alleging he shot Wilson with a modified-to-automatic AR-15 rifle after a safe, filled with cocaine and cash, was…
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