For Immediate Release  

Contact: Katlyn Toelle  
Phone: (443) 417-5383  
Email: katlyn@rbij.org 

(Washington, D.C.) North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued the largest number of death row commutations in the state’s history on Tuesday, replacing the death sentences of 15 individuals with terms of life imprisonment. Prior to Cooper’s announcement, only five North Carolina death sentences had been commuted over nearly five decades. 

Gov. Cooper’s historic decision follows two years of pro-commutation advocacy from a diverse coalition of voices from across North Carolina and the U.S., including death row exonerees, murder victims’ family members, faith leaders, prosecutors, and former judges. Among these efforts were letters sent to the governor by Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, and Maha Jweied, CEO of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), which argued the business case for commuting the state’s death row. Together, Branson and RBIJ co-founded the global Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty campaign. 

“The death penalty is not a smart use of public resources,” Branson’s letter read. “According to a study from Duke University, death penalty prosecutions cost North Carolina taxpayers an estimated $11 million a year. The reputational costs may be even greater. Many foreign direct investors are factoring the practice into their site selection choices [...] Perpetuating this cruel practice poses a serious risk to North Carolina’s economic future.” 

Following Tuesday’s commutations, North Carolina still has the fifth-largest death row in the nation, with 121 individuals now awaiting execution. The remaining cases are marred by serious issues, including racial discrimination in jury selection, racist language used during trials, questionable evidence, and defendants with mental illness or other conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to harsh sentencing. All but one of the people who received commutations Tuesday are people of color, reflecting the racism in North Carolina’s death penalty system.   

“By commuting 15 death sentences, Gov. Cooper has signaled that good governance and fiscal prudence remain top priorities for North Carolina – and this will go far with the business community,” said Jweied. “Business leaders increasingly view the death penalty as a wasteful, failed, overreaching government program. They recognize that life sentences are a more effective and humane solution for improving public safety and holding people accountable for their actions.” 

North Carolina’s 15 death row commutations followed President Biden’s historic commutation of 37 federal death sentences just a week earlier. Together, these actions brought the total number of U.S. death row commutations in 2024 to 52 — double the year’s total executions, which stand at 25. 

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The Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) is an award-winning international nonprofit that works with companies to champion solutions that promote public safety, deliver justice, and strengthen communities.  

The Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty campaign was launched by RBIJ and Sir Richard Branson in 2021 and its declaration has since been signed by more than 450 key figures from the global business community. The full list of signatories is available here.