Eight for­mer North Carolina Supreme Court jus­tices are urg­ing the lead­er­ship of the North Carolina House of Representatives to allow a vote on leg­is­la­tion that would impose a two-year mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions in the state while cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment is stud­ied. Among the 8 for­mer jus­tices are Democrats and Republicans, some who sup­port the death penal­ty and oth­ers who oppose it. ​“This leg­is­la­tion is about fun­da­men­tal fair­ness, an issue that should not be con­tro­ver­sial. The recent exon­er­a­tions of Alan Gell and Darryl Hunt give clear evi­dence of the need for a study of our death penal­ty sys­tem. We should stop all exe­cu­tions until we can be sure that the death penal­ty is being used fair­ly in this state. We can­not risk the exe­cu­tion of an inno­cent per­son. We urge House lead­ers to per­mit a vote on this issue and allow the Democratic process to work,” said the Honorable James G. Exum, Jr., one of the let­ter’s co-sign­ers. The North Carolina Senate passed the bill last spring, but house lead­ers have said the mea­sure may not come up for a vote before their ses­sion ends this year. A statewide poll shows that 63% of North Carolinians sup­port the tem­po­rary halt to exe­cu­tions so the sys­tem can be stud­ied. (North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium Press Release, June 29, 2004) Read the press release. 

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