Potential 2028 Dem hopeful follows Biden lead, commutes 15 death-row sentences on final day as governor
On his way out the door, then-North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 individuals on the Tarheel State’s death row.
Cooper, a Democrat whose name has been floated as one of the party’s topline names for the 2028 presidential contest, acted similarly to outgoing President Biden — who caught heat last week for commuting sentences for almost all federal death row inmates.
"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 in a statement.
"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."
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No executions have occurred in North Carolina since 2006 due to ongoing litigation.
One of the inmates who saw his sentence commuted to life was felony murder inmate Hasson Bacote. Bacote had originally filed suit in 2010 challenging his death sentence under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act, which reportedly allows defendants to challenge sentences if they can determine racial bias.
Bacote, who is Black, had been convicted of shooting an 18-year-old by a White-majority Johnston County jury.
Rayford Burke, an Iredell County murder convict who received a commutation, also reportedly sought relief under the Racial Justice Act, according to WCNC.
Another commutation recipient, Christopher Roseboro, has been in prison for about 30 years. In 1994, Roseboro was indicted on first-degree rape and other charges stemming from allegations he and another man robbed an elderly neighbor who was later found dead along with evidence she had been sexually assaulted.
The co-defendant, Roger Bell, is already serving a life sentence.
A Union County man, Darrell Strickland, was convicted of manslaughter following a tragic Jan. 1, 1995, argument. He also saw his sentence commuted to life without parole.
Vincent Wooten, a Pitt County man sentenced for the 1993 murder of Edward Wilson, also saw his sentence commuted, according to the Greenville Daily Reflector.
Wooten, then 20, saw evidence presented at his trial alleging he shot Wilson with a modified-to-automatic AR-15 rifle after a safe, filled with cocaine and cash, was stolen from the mother of Wooten’s girlfriend.
Another commuted convict, Guy T. LeGrande, had been sent to prison following a murder-for-hire incident. LeGrande was later diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to Mother Jones, and had previously claimed to be able to communicate with Oprah Winfrey through a television.
Cooper’s commutations follow Biden’s flurry of orders reclassifying death sentences to life without parole for 37 convicts.
"President Biden has dedicated his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system," the White House said in a December statement.
"He believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder — which is why today’s actions apply to all but those cases."
A man sentenced to death for a 2003 Tennessee shooting said he was surprised Biden commuted so many convicts’ terms.
"I resolved not to squander this act of mercy, this grace of life. I resolved to be part of Biden's legacy — by the way I contribute to the betterment of society and prisons," Rejon Taylor told Newsweek.
"Biden doesn't realize this now, but his act of mercy will resound through me, bearing fruit that will outlive his time on this earth."
Some of Biden’s other commutations, including a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, judge jailed in a "kids-for-cash" scandal where juveniles were aggressively prosecuted and sent to for-profit prisons, have sparked bipartisan outrage.
Cooper’s 77 total pardons and commutations over his two terms, however, are dwarfed by the nearly 700 from fellow Democratic Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., who served four terms in two non-consecutive eight-year periods, according to NC Newsline.
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Only three men remain on federal death row after Biden’s actions: Robert Gregory Bowers, Dzhokar Anzorovich Tsarnaev and Dylann Storm Roof. Bowers was convicted in the 2018 Pennsylvania synagogue shooting; Roof massacred several Black churchgoers in South Carolina; and Tsarnaev — along with his now-deceased brother Tamerlan — masterminded the Boston Marathon bombing.
Then-North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, was sworn into the governor's office to succeed Cooper in Raleigh on Wednesday.