North Carolina may become the first state to enact a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions through the leg­isla­tive process. A mora­to­ri­um mea­sure has already passed their Senate and is await­ing action in the House. A new Web site launched by the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium, www​.ncmora​to​ri​um​.org, con­tains a vast amount of infor­ma­tion relat­ed to this impor­tant issue. Among the top­ics exam­ined are the qual­i­ty of coun­sel, inno­cence, costs, access to DNA test­ing, deter­rence, race, arbi­trari­ness, and pub­lic opin­ion. The site also con­tains case sum­maries of North Carolina defen­dants whose sto­ries speak to the need for a pause in exe­cu­tions. The mora­to­ri­um bill would allow the state’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment poli­cies to be reviewed to ensure fair­ness and accu­ra­cy. The mea­sure has received sup­port from both pro­po­nents and oppo­nents of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. See North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium. See also North Carolina.
Citation Guide