Even the winds of Hurricane Helene haven't stopped the "Walk for Commutation"
GREENSBORO —Anti-death penalty advocates have begun a 136-mile walk that passes through Greensboro Sunday in an effort to get Gov. Roy Cooper to commute the sentences of the 136 individuals on death row.
They were slowed but did not stop with the winds and rains of Hurricane Helene.
The "Walk for Commutation" by members of The North Carolina Alternatives to the Death Penalty and supporters includes the screening of the "Racist Roots" film at First Friends Meeting that is open to the public and details the history of the death penalty. Other activities include a letter-writing campaign to the governor.
"There are many people who are on death row who should not be on death row," said Lia Scholl, the pastor of the church, referencing the death of a man in Oklahoma despite questions raised before the man's execution.
Of her many reasons for being against the death penalty is the possibility of carrying it out on the innocent, some of whom are later exonerated.
"And one person dying on death row who is not guilty is too many," Scholl said.
Scholl has also talked to the family of crime victims.
"What I hear from folks who have been through this is that the death is not closure," Scholl said of the execution. "They are still missing their family member. The execution does not end their pain."
She is hoping Cooper clears death row before he leaves office.
"He has less to lose than anybody by communicating these 136 sentences," Scholl said of Cooper, who is not up for re-election.
Anti-death penalty protests on street corners in North Carolina largely got little more than a passing notice until recently. The state has been in a moratorium, but that could change as other states, including South Carolina, have reinstated the death penalty and conversations are again taking place.
The organization started its walk in Winston-Salem on Thursday and will call on the governor to eliminate the risk that the executions will take place by commuting the death sentences when it ends Oct. 10 in Raleigh.
The group intentionally planned its route to begin and end in two counties, Forsyth and Wake, where they say more people are sentenced to death than anywhere else in the state.
They've invited people to join them even for a few minutes on the walks.
Those stops include gathering in the evenings for shared meals, film screenings, conversations and sing-alongs.
The group will be at First Friends at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
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