WS Chronicle

By Tevin Stinson 

The Chronicle  

Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass a bill that would lift a halt on executions being carried out and make the electric chair the state primary method for capital punishment.  

House Bill 270 

Last week the Judiciary 2 Committee of the N.C. House of Representatives advanced proposals for House Bill 270, which would repeal a section of the law abolishing the use of the electric chair and again make electrocution the default method of execution in North Carolina.  

The state banned electrocution, and lethal injection has been the primary method for capital punishment since 1998. The last person executed in North Carolina was Samuel Flippen, who was executed in 2006.  

While there are a total of 137 people on death row, executions in North Carolina have been on pause due to ongoing lawsuits challenging the methods and concerns about racial bias in sentencing. Over the years, questions have been raised about the drugs used for lethal injection and whether a doctor must be present at an execution. In the past, the state medical board has threatened to punish doctors who take part in an execution.  

In addition to bringing back the electric chair, H.B. 270 would also allow death by firing squad. If passed, inmates on death row would have the option to choose. Those sentenced to death would be required to select a method of execution in writing 14 days before it is scheduled to take place.  

Although it’s almost certain that H.B. 270 will also be challenged in court if it is passed, experts believe the bill is a bigger push to end the halt on executions. In 2021, South Carolina passed a similar bill that allowed executions to resume. Despite legal challenges, the bill was upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court last year. 

A Response to Cooper 

It’s clear H.B. 270 was filed in response to actions taken by former Gov. Roy Cooper before he left office. The bill is sponsored by 10 Republicans: Bill Ward, David Willis, A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr., Jonathan L. Almond, Jennifer Balkcom, Todd Carver, Neal Jackson, Keith Kidwell, and Paul Scott.  

When discussing the bill during a committee hearing, Rep Willis, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said capital punishment is an option courts should have. “It’s not something that’s used every single day, obviously, but I think our (district attorneys) and our courts need to have this option on the table to combat some of the heinous crimes and murders and things that we’re seeing,” Willis told The News & Observer. 

The bill was filled just months after Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 inmates to life in prison without parole. Cooper’s actions granted clemency to individuals on death row, including three from Forsyth County. It was also the largest grant of death row clemency in state history. 

“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. “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.”  

The Governor’s Clemency Office reportedly received 89 petitions for clemency, all of which were “carefully reviewed, researched and considered.” The office considers a wide range of factors in such reviews, including the “mental and intellectual capacity of the defendant at the time of the crime,” credible claims of innocence, and input from prosecutors and family members of the victim. 

Cooper’s decision follows a two-year campaign for the governor to grant clemency to all inmates on North Carolina’s death row. According to the N.C. Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, 12 of the 15 inmates were tried before reforms were implemented in 2001 to prevent wrongful convictions and 14 are people of color.  

“This action is smaller than we asked for, but it is still a historic step by a North Carolina governor to address injustice in the death penalty. The 15 men granted clemency today include people affected by racism in their trials, people who were sentenced under outdated laws, and those who committed crimes at very young ages, among other inequities,” said NCCADP Executive Director Noel Nickle in a statement. “We are grateful that Gov. Cooper heard our calls for action.”  

H.B. 270 was scheduled to have a second committee hearing today, Tuesday, May 6. After the second hearing, the next steps will include a debate and potential amendments. If the bill passes both chambers, it goes to a conference committee to resolve any differences and then to the governor for his signature or veto.