Pathways to Clemency in North Carolina

Before leaving office in November 2024, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) commuted the sentences of six people in North Carolina prisons and granted pardons of innocence to two others. Four of the commutations followed a recommendation by the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, established during the Cooper Administration to review petitions from people sentenced to prison for crimes committed while they were under the age of 18.

The board was established with the mandate to “promote sentencing outcomes that consider the fundamental differences between juveniles and adults and address the structural impact of racial bias while maintaining public safety.”

It was also a response to address clear racial biases in sentencing, as well as to North Carolina’s historical place as an outlier among states in its treatment of minors accused of crimes. Until December 1, 2019, every 16-year-old accused of a crime in North Carolina was automatically prosecuted in adult court. As a result, thousands of minors were tried and convicted in criminal courts and sentenced to adult prisons.

Drawing on neuroscience and developmental psychology, the United States Supreme Court in 2005 began to restructure the constitutional limitations on sentencing of juveniles. In three landmark cases—Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, and Miller v. Alabama—the court held that “children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes.” As a result the Court found that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit capital sentences, life without parole (LWOP) sentences for non-homicides, and mandatory LWOP for individuals who commit crimes while under the age of eighteen.

In the November 2024 elections, North Carolinans elected Josh Stein (D), who served as North Carolina's Attorney General from 2017 to 2025. Criminal justice advocates in North Carolina are hoping to see the same potential in second chances in the new Governor that they saw from Cooper.

In "In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom," a feature from Bolts Magazine, four North Carolinans impacted by juvenile LWOP sentencing discuss clemency opportunities from the new governor.

Joseph Jones was one of nearly 200 people sentenced to life without parole and other very lengthy prison terms as children who filed petitions for clemency with the JSRB. He and 75 other cases didn't receive a response from the Board during Cooper's time in office, so he now awaits a decision under the Stein administration. A spokesperson for Stein said his office “is reviewing clemency-related policies and procedures under the new administration” and “continues to review all petitions received.” 

“I can’t explain how much I think about what happened that day," Jones said. "Nothing I say or do now can change it. So I focus on being the best person I can be, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to overcome something I did as a stupid little kid.”

Read the full article "In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom," from Bolts Magazine.