Executions – February 2012

1 – Donald Newbury (TX – stayed)

8 – Edwin Turner (MS)

15 – Robert Waterhouse (FL)

16 – Garry Allen (OK)

22 – Michael Webb (OH -stayed)

28 – Anthony Bartee (TX)

29 – George Rivas (TX)

29 – Robert Moormann (AZ)

NC Death Penalty – 2011 Year in Review

Quick Facts

• Executions: 0
• Persons removed from death row for other reasons: 3
• New death sentences: 3
• Capital trials not resulting in death: 11

In Detail

• Persons Removed from Death Row

> Isaac Stroud (Durham) – In February, Isaac Stroud was declared incompetent to be executed and re-sentenced to life.

> John Fleming (Northampton) – This fall, John Fleming died of natural causes at the age of 83.  Fleming was first sent to death row at the age of 70.

> David “Bo” Williams (Bertie) – David Williams died of natural causes at the age of 46.  He had been on death row since 1996.

• New Death Sentences

> Tony Summers (Guilford) – Tony Summers was convicted of stabbing Lavell Williams and assaulting her two children.

> Danny Hembree (Gaston) – Danny Hembree was convicted of smothering Heather Catterton.

> William Robinson (Stanly) – William Robinson was convicted of shooting Keith Crump and injuring another man.

• Capital Trials Not Resulting in Death

> Michael Mead (Gaston) – Michael Mead was found not guilty of killing his pregnant fiancée and setting her house on fire.  The defense presented evidence that Mead was 50 miles away when the crime occurred.

> Al Bellamy (Iredell/Gaston) – A mistrial was declared when it was revealed during the guilt-or-innocence phase of Al Bellamy’s trial that prosecutors failed to disclose over 1700 pages of evidence to the defense.  If the State elects to try Bellamy again, it will be prohibited from seeking the death penalty.

> Robert Stewart (Moore) – Robert Stewart was convicted of second-degree murder after opening fire in a nursing home and killing eight people.  The cumulative sentence was at least 141 years in prison.

> Brandon Gross (Buncombe) – Brandon Gross was convicted of second degree murder, robbery, and burglary for beating a man to death in his home.  He will serve at least 43 years in prison.

> Shelton Mills (Pitt) – Shelton Mills was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after being convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

> Danny Thomas (Columbus) –Danny Thomas, previously convicted of murder in another county was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for four additional killings.

> Joshua Stepp (Wake) – Joshua Stepp was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the sexual assault and beating death of his ten month-old stepdaughter.

> Larry Robinson (Robeson) – Larry Robinson killed two men and injured a third in an ambush-style assault, and was sentenced to life without parole.

> Melba Slaydon (Randolph) – During jury selection, Melba Slaydon accepted a plea to life without parole in the killing of her husband.

> Dennis Mills (Alamance) – During jury selection, Dennis Mills accepted a plea to life without parole for shooting two men to death in their home.  Mills had previously been convicted of another homicide.

> James Richardson (Pitt) – After James Richardson was convicted of killing two men in a drive-by shooting, prosecutors dropped their request for the death penalty.

North Carolina’s Death Row 2012

As of January 1, 2012, North Carolina’s death row was home to 154 men and 4 women.  Of these, 63 were white and 95 were minorities.  Source here.

	DOC  #	Last Name	First Name	County
1	0234897	Laws	Wayne A.	Davidson
2	0207779	Jennings	Patricia W.	Wilson
3	0288088	Moore	Blanche T.	Forsyth
4	0265106	McCollum	Henry L.	Cumberland
5	0351933	Rose	Clinton R.	Rockingham
6	0100579	Davis	Edward E.	Buncombe
7	0353186	Rouse	Kenneth B.	Randolph
8	0339314	Reeves	Michael M.	Craven
9	0347839	Robinson	Eddie C.	Bladen
10	0264009	McCarver	Ernest P.	Cabarrus
11	0294214	Moseley	Carl	Forsyth
12	0039561	Bowie	Nathan	Catawba
13	0039569	Bowie	William	Catawba
14	0057308	Burkes	Rayford L.	Iredell
15	0058316	Burr	John	Alamance
16	0104984	Decastro	Eugene	Johnston
17	0156518	Gregory	Warren	Pitt
18	0251740	Lynch	David	Gaston
19	0021418	Barrett	Jeffrey	Northampton
20	0030124	Best	Norfolk	Columbus
21	0063592	Campbell	James	Rowan
22	0141374	Garner	Daniel	Robeson
23	0099090	Daughtry	Johnny R.	Johnston
24	0054499	Buckner	George C.	Gaston
25	0441726	Williams	James E.	Randolph
26	0343075	Richardson	Martin A.	Union
27	0012311	Atkins	Randy L.	Buncombe
28	0017060	Ball	Terry L.	Beaufort
29	0071799	Chambers	Frank J.	Rowan
30	0020590	Barnes	William L.	Rowan
31	0221506	Kandies	Jeffrey	Randolph
32	0453231	Wooten	Vincent M.	Pitt
33	0120038	Elliott	John R.	Davidson
34	0082151	Cole	Wade L.	Camden
35	0348505	Robinson	Marcus	Cumberland
36	0166056	Harden	Alden	Mecklenburg
37	0156529	Gregory	William	Davie
38	0438643	Wilkinson	Phillip	Cumberland
39	0143501	Geddie	Malcolm	Johnston
40	0095279	Cummings	Daniel	Brunswick
41	0443375	Williams	Marvin E.	Wayne
42	0085045	Connor	Jerry W.	Gates
43	0404386	Thomas	James E.	Wake
44	0368820	Sidden	Tony M.	Alexander
45	0036850	Bond	Charles P.	Bertie
46	0233526	Larry	Thomas M.	Forsyth
47	0497100	Woods	Darrell C.	Forsyth
48	0492102	Richardson	Timothy	Nash
49	0061528	Cagle	Richard	Cumberland
50	0180479	Herring	William	Wake
51	0487180	Warren	Leslie	Buncombe
52	0393145	Strickland	Darrell	Union
53	0511057	Hill	Jerry Dale	Harnett
54	0511998	East	Keith B.	Surry
55	0275678	McNeil	John D.	Cumberland
56	0414853	Tyler	Stacey A.	Hertford
57	0388922	Stephens	Davy G.	Johnston
58	0413011	Tucker	Russell	Forsyth
59	0495163	Neal	Kenneth	Rockingham
60	0499258	Murillo	Eric F.	Richmond
61	0238344	LeGrande	Guy T.	Stanly
62	0376917	Smith	Jamie L.	Buncombe
63	0246186	Locklear	Robbie D.	Robeson
64	0471315	Billings	Archie L.	Caswell
65	0506556	Guevara	Angel	Johnston
66	0405380	Thomas	Walic C.	Guilford
67	0037215	Bonnett	Shawn D.	Martin
68	0510234	Davis	James F.	Buncombe
69	0434355	White	Melvin L.	Craven
70	0412440	Trull	Gary A.	Randolph
71	0320825	Peterson	Lawrence E.	Richmond
72	0422350	Wallace	Henry L.	Mecklenburg
73	0539901	Taylor	Terrence	Lenoir
74	0311966	Parker	Johnny S.	Sampson
75	0176701	Hedgepath	Rowland	Halifax
76	0255136	Mann	Leroy	Wake
77	0585797	Davis	Phillip	Buncombe
78	0352024	Roseboro	Christopher	Gaston
79	0033802	Blakeney	Roger	Union
80	0488288	Mitchell	Marcos	Wake
81	0095361	Cummings	Jerry	Robeson
82	0134151	Fowler	Elrico	Mecklenburg
83	0552017	Moses	Erroll	Forsyth
84	0043529	Braxton	Michael	Halifax
85	0597164	Lawrence	Jimmie	Harnett
86	0599379	Williams	John	Wake
87	0137368	Frogg	Danny	Forsyth
88	0587681	Holman	Allen	Wake
89	0158506	Grooms	Timmy	Scotland
90	0590940	Golphin	Tilmon	Cumberland
91	0542024	Hyde	Johnny	Onslow
92	0388640	Steen	Patrick	Mecklenburg
93	0584095	Brewington	Robert	Harnett
94	0472274	Taylor	Rodney	New Hanover
95	0226428	King	James	Guilford
96	0280127	Meyer	Jeffery	Cumberland
97	0330166	Prevatte	Ted	Stanly
98	0515143	Thibodeaux	Raymond	Forsyth
99	0580028	May	Lyle	Buncombe
100	0311386	Parker	Carlette	Wake
101	0125241	Fair	Nathaniel	Wake
102	0542384	Call	Eric	Ashe
103	0654009	Wiley	Keith	New Hanover
104	0654093	Anthony	William	Gaston
105	0206197	Jaynes	James	Polk
106	0291861	Morgan	James	Buncombe
107	0491889	Barden	Iziah	Sampson
108	0130628	Fletcher	Andre L.	Rutherford
109	0199877	Hyatt	Terry A.	Buncombe
110	0561692	Hooks	Cerron T.	Forsyth
111	0349019	Robinson	Terry L.	Wilson
112	0688223	Squires	Mark L.	Pitt
113	0626944	Walters	Christina	Cumberland
114	0051026	Brown	Paul A.	Wayne
115	0434845	White	Timothy L.	Forsyth
116	0189289	Holmes	Michael D.	Johnston
117	0217326	Jones, Sr.	Marcus Douglas	Onslow
118	0486636	Carter	Shan E.	New Hanover
119	0702066	Garcia	Fernando L.	Wake
120	0561943	Haselden	Jim E.	Stokes
121	0428143	Watts	James Hollis	Davidson
122	0592464	Bell	Bryan Christopher	Onslow
123	0742512	Miller	Clifford Ray	Onslow
124	0379083	Smith	Reche	Washington
125	0064125	Campbell	Terrance	Pender
126	0765397	Smith	Wesley Toby	Rowan
127	0612123	Augustine	Quintel	Brunswick
128	0406487	Thompson	John Henry	Guilford
129	0290634	Moore (Al-Bayyinah)	Terry (Jathiyah)	Davie
130	0113234	Duke	Jeffrey Neal	Gaston
131	0133102	Forte	Linwood Earl	Wayne
132	0005091	Allen	Scott D.	Montgomery
133	0120236	Elliott	Terrance R.	Moore
134	0509565	Hurst	Jason Wayne	Randolph
135	0014016	Badgett	John Scott	Randolph
136	0523493	Cummings	Paul Dewayne	New Hanover
137	0801680	Polke	Alexander C.	Randolph
138	0150949	Goss	Christopher	Ashe
139	0667195	Lane	Eric Glenn	Wayne
140	0762634	Taylor	Eddie Larmar	Harnett
141	0526698	Raines	William H.	Henderson
142	0940436	Murrell	Jeremy Dushane	Forsyth
143	0831753	Maness	Darrell W.	Brunswick
144	0775602	Garcell	Ryan G.	Rutherford
145	0900281	Wilkerson	George Thomas	Randolph
146	0441044	Williams	Eugene Johnny	Cumberland
147	1025501	Waring	Byron Lamar	Wake
148	0604251	Phillips	Mario	Moore
149	0846840	Little	James R.	Forsyth
150	0366770	Sherrill	Michael	Mecklenburg
151	0796623	Bacote	Jamaal H.	Johnston
152	1033115	Ryan	Michael Patrick	Gaston
153	0972488	Ramseur	Andrew Darrin	Iredell
154	1062462	Buckner	Stephen	McDowell
155	0172431	Hartford	Timothy, Jr.	Forsyth
156	0395658	Summers	Tony Savalis	Guilford
157	0177668	Hembree	Danny Robbie, Jr.	Gaston
158	0694689	Robinson	William E.	Stanly

Perdue Vetoes Racial Justice Act Repeal; Legislature Called Back to Raleigh

Governor Beverly Perdue issued her veto of the Racial Justice Act repeal bill on December 14th.  Her veto will stand, and the RJA will be preserved, unless both chambers of the General Assembly vote to override.  The legislature will return to session for a single day – January 4th – to decide the issue.  Under North Carolina law, the override will not succeed unless 3/5ths of present and voting members of each chamber vote in support.

Larry Robinson Sentenced to Life Without Parole

The last capital trial of 2011 ended in a life sentence yesterday.

Larry Bonnell Shawn Robinson was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole by a Robeson County jury after less than 30 minutes of deliberation.  The same jury previously found Robinson guilty of one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury for his role in a 2007 shooting that left two men dead and a third injured.

William Robinson Sentenced to Death

A Stanly County jury has sentenced William Eugene Robinson to death for the 2006 murder of Kevin Devon Crump.

NC Capital Trial Update 12-7-11

In Stanly County, William Eugene Robinson has been convicted of first-degree murder and other related charges in the death of Keith Crump.  The trial will now proceed to the sentencing phase, at which the jury must decide whether Robinson should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, or to death.

DW remains unable to find any information in the media about the Robeson County trial of Larry Bonnell Shawn Robinson.  DW notes that Mr. Robinson is not in the custody of the Department of Correction at this time.

No additional capital trials are scheduled in North Carolina for the remainder of this calendar year.

Save the Racial Justice Act

It has been a little over a week since the North Carolina General Assembly voted to repeal the Racial Justice Act, a landmark piece of legislation which enabled death row inmates to challenge their sentences by showing patterns of racial discrimination in the jurisdictions where they were tried.

Since then, Republican lawmakers have been accused of ignoring undisputed evidence of racial bias in the administration of the death penalty and abusing the legislative system to sneak through legislation without public oversight.

Groups including the NC-NAACP have called on Governor Beverly Perdue to veto the bill, but there has been no word from her office as of this writing.  Under North Carolina law, Governor Perdue has 30 days to issue a veto.  The Governor has indicated that she will make her decision next week.

• We all deserve the truth

Defendants have alleged a pervasive pattern of racial discrimination, both in jury selection and in decisions about which cases deserve the death penalty.  It has been over a year since motions were filed presenting evidence to support these claims.  Since August of 2010, the ball has been in the State’s court, but prosecutors haven’t even attempted to prove that something other than race is involved.

Rather than confront the issue head on, prosecutors have tried to delay the courts.  After months of ill-founded constitutional challenges and even an attempt to prevent a black judge from presiding over the matter, the first real test of the Racial Justice Act was scheduled to begin next month.  Just in time, conservative lawmakers swooped in to repeal the Racial Justice Act.

Prosecutors and lawmakers have nothing to fear but the truth being heard.  If the claims made under the Racial Justice Act are frivolous, no court will hesitate to throw them out.  Prosecutors claim that the RJA has placed a moratorium on the death penalty, when the reality is that the only thing preventing these cases from moving forward is prosecutors’ sandbagging of the judicial process.

• The RJA is not a get out of jail free card

Prosecutors and conservative lawmakers have circulated the false rumor that a successful Racial Justice Act claim could result in death row inmates being immediately released from prison.  Never mind that the statute explicitly says that the only relief available is a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

It is constitutional for a death sentence to be converted to life without parole, even if the option of life without parole was not available at the time of the original trial.  This is exactly what happens when a death row inmate is granted clemency by the governor.  [For inmates sentenced prior to 1994, the jury did not have the option of life without the possibility of parole.]

Any inmate who meets the high bar of proving his claim under the Racial Justice Act will be re-sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.  He will be punished, for the rest of his life, for the acts he committed, and not for the acts or omissions of anyone else.  Just as justice has always intended.

Call Governor Perdue today and urge her to veto the repeal of the Racial Justice Act.  The numbers for her office are (800) 662-7952 and (919) 733-2391.  People of Faith Against the Death Penalty have a petition you can sign online, or you can e-mail the Governor yourself at this address

Media roundup

ACLU blog

Colorlines

The Daily Tarheel

Independent Weekly

Mother Jones

ThinkProgress

Executions – December 2011

6 – Gary Haugen (OR – stayed)

Racial Justice Media Roundup

The North Carolina Senate is meeting today in an unusual short session.  One issue on the table – and the chopping block – is the Racial Justice Act.  The Conference of District Attorneys (in a letter the  NAACP contends is inaccurate and misleading) has urged legislators to effectively repeal the landmark bill.  Defense attorneys have submitted a letter of their own, urging the General Assembly to preserve inmates’ right to present evidence of racial bias in the administration of the death penalty.

More to come as this story develops.

Local papers:

Asheville Citizen-Times: Racial Justice Act ‘Fix’ Would in Essence End It

Fayetteville Observer: Prosecutors See Danger in Sentence Reviews

Wilmington Star-News: Effort to Repeal Racial Justice Act Would Tip the Scales the Wrong Way

Winston-Salem Journal: District Attorneys Call for End to Racial Justice Act

Letters to the Editor/Op-Eds/Blog Posts:

District Attorneys v. The Law by James Coleman (Duke law professor)

Racial Justice Act is Necessary by Hannah Autry

Nothing New in Death Row Debate by Scott Mooneyham

Our Judicial System Should be Color Blind by George Burazer

Racial Justice Act Should be Defended by Cecil Bothwell (Asheville city councilman)

In Defense of NC’s Racial Justice Act by scharrison @ BlueNC

Detecting Bias in Death Penalty Cases by Frank Baumgartner (UNC political science professor)