by Michelle Sparrow | Apr 23, 2012 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act has done for one inmate just what it was designed to do: A 38-year-old African American inmate is no longer sentenced to death. Because a judge ruled that racial bias played a role in the trial and sentencing of the man, his... by Michelle Sparrow | Sep 28, 2011 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
In the shadow of an execution that became an international cause, a three-judge panel in North Carolina found two inmates innocent of a crime they had been imprisoned for 10 years ago. They had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2000 but maintained their... by Michelle Sparrow | Jun 17, 2011 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
We’re continuing our discussion of a bill in the North Carolina State Senate right now. The measure, House Bill 659, would remove the death penalty as a sentencing option if the defendant can demonstrate that he or she had a severe mental disability at the time... by Michelle Sparrow | Dec 22, 2010 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
A Wake County judge has found probably cause of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the cases against the teenage children of a man found murdered in his home in October. The 17-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son were originally charged as... by Michelle Sparrow | Dec 20, 2010 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
Prosecutors in Wake County revealed last week that they will seek the death penalty in their case against the 30-year-old man charged with killing North Carolina state school board member Kathy Taft. Taft was sexually assaulted and beaten to death in March. The formal...