In one of his final acts in office, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men convicted of first-degree murder to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, reducing the state’s death row population by more than 10%. Cooper, who was barred from seeking a third consecutive four-year term, will leave office on Wednesday, as fellow Democrat Josh Stein takes the oath of office, the Associated Press reports. Cooper, who previously served as the state's attorney general for 16 years, said his commutation decisions occurred following a thorough review of petitions offered by defendants and input from prosecutors and victims’ families. Even after Tuesday’s action, North Carolina has the fifth-largest death row by population in the country, according to the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Before Tuesday, North Carolina had 136 offenders on death row. Cooper's office received clemency petitions from 89 of them.
Cooper’s office said it considered a variety of factors, such as a defendant’s conduct in prison, the adequacy of legal representation and sentences received by co-defendants. “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 news release. “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.” North Carolina is one of 27 states that allows the death penalty as a criminal punishment, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, although governors in five of those states currently have placed executions on formal hold. While North Carolina is not one of those five, the state has not executed anyone since 2006. The number of defendants sentenced to death in North Carolina has also dwindled in recent years, as prosecutors have more leeway in state law to decide whether to try a capital case.
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