Currently the death penalty is given out disproportionately to the poor and to racial minorities.
Capital cases are often full of errors.
According to a study by researchers at Columbia University, last year two out of every three convictions were overturned on appeal mostly due to errors by incompetent defense lawyers or the withholding of evidence by prosecutors or police. North Carolina is sentencing people to death at a per-capita rate four times that of Virginia and nearly twice the rate of Texas, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Justice. If we are going to use the death penalty, surely we need to at least make sure there is justice in how it is used. So far, more than 21,000 North Carolinians have signed a moratorium petition and 13 local governments have passed moratorium resolutions, including the Greensboro City Council. Even if you support the death penalty, please write or call your senators and representatives now and urge them to support the moratorium.