Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of North Carolina .
Despite remaining a legal penalty, there have been no executions in North Carolina since 2006. A series of lawsuits filed in state courts questioning the fairness and humanity of capital punishment have created a de facto moratorium on executions being carried out in North Carolina. [1] [2] The last person executed in the state is Samuel Flippen. [3]
When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous. To avoid any racial bias in the decision, North Carolina created the Racial Justice Act and passed it in 2009. [4]
In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial). [5]
The power of clemency belongs to the Governor of North Carolina. On December 31, 2024, outgoing Governor Roy Cooper, granted clemency to 15 inmates on North Carolina's death row. [6] Prior to those granted, North Carolina had over 120 offenders on death row. 89 of those cases petitioned for clemency, which were sent to the Governor's office to be reviewed. [7]
The method of execution is lethal injection.
In April 2025, a bill was proposed to legalize both firing squad and the electric chair as alternative execution methods. [8]
First-degree murder is punishable by death in North Carolina if it involves one of the following aggravating factors: [5]
Death row for males is located at the Central Prison. Female death row prisoners are housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. Both prisons are located in Raleigh.
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