Executions might see challenge

After six months away from Raleigh, lawmakers are kicking into high gear for the 2005-06 legislative session as they prepare to tackle the much-debated possibility of a moratorium on the death penalty.

The idea is not new, and several proposals have been put forth in the past, including one in 2003 that made it through the Senate but died in the House.

But this year, the climate could be ripe for such a bill, with Democrats controlling the legislature and Rep. Richard Morgan, R-Moore, possibly leaving his post as co-speaker.

Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, said momentum for a moratorium seems to be strong, even from legislators who support the death penalty.

But it is too early to tell how successful such a move would be, she said, and it is important that she and other supporters work to get the votes.

Weiss said a number of factors have led to innocent people landing on death row, from poor counsel to geographic, economic and racial factors.

“We know for a fact that innocent people have been put on death row,” she said, citing recent cases such as Alan Gell and Darryl Hunt.

Gell was awarded a new trial after it was found that prosecutors had withheld evidence in his original trial.

Hunt, though not on death row, served 18 years for the murder of Deborah Sykes. In 2004, he was exonerated after DNA testing was applied to the case.

“There are a lot of incongruities that are very troubling,” Weiss said. “The last thing I want to do is execute somebody who’s innocent.”

But Sen. Hugh Webster, R-Alamance, said a moratorium is the first step to ending the death penalty system, something he said he is against.

“I don’t think the system is broken,” he said. “As far as I know, we have never executed anyone who is not guilty.”

Webster said that although there are problems with any system — such as inconsistencies in sentencing — the death penalty is an important and effective deterrence against other crimes.

“No system is perfect,” he said. “Never has been, never will be. We should do everything we can to make sure the system works accurately, fairly, and we should come down hard on any prosecutor who lies to get a prosecution.

“But the execution of the death sentence is a very important part of our system.”

Webster said he is opposed to any sort of moratorium but added that it is impossible to predict the future actions of 170 legislators.

Still, the moratorium is important to make sure the system is working right, said Amy Fulk, press secretary for Sen. President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare.

She added that the senator voted for the moratorium previously but said the atmosphere is hard to read because 24 percent of the senators are new to the General Assembly.

“Senator Basnight supports the death penalty, but at the same time, he feels that there is no room for error.”

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