---
title: 'NEW VOICES: North Carolina Attorney General Urges Open-File Policy, Calls Gell Case a "Travesty"'
description: 'North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is calling on prosecutors to open their files to defense attorneys in first-degree murder cases to avoid…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-north-carolina-attorney-general-urges-open-file-policy-calls-gell-case-a-travesty'
section: news
date: '2004-03-02T18:24:08-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:23:30-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper is calling on prosecutors to open their files to defense attorneys in first-degree murder cases to avoid wrongful convictions like that of former death row inmate Alan Gell, who was exonerated and freed in February. Cooper called Gell's first trial a "travesty" and stated that the prosecutors committed "inexcusable neglect" in their handling of the trial. **"The original prosecutors in this case owe everyone an apology: the defendant, the victim's family, the community, and everybody in the state. An unfair trial occurred,"** Cooper said. Since Gell's first trial, the prosecutors, who are under investigation by the State Bar, have gone on to other jobs in the court system. (News & Observer, March 2, 2004) Gell's exoneration and Cooper's call for reform of the way first-degree murder trials are conducted comes as members of the North Carolina House of Representatives are considering an historic vote that could halt executions in this closely-watched Southern state. See [New Voices](/new-voices?did=482&scid=16) and [Innocence](/innocence-and-death-penalty?did=412&scid=6).