Account of Hunt Hunt 2K Protest
by Tomas Murawski

For those of you who didn't have the opportunity, and - dare I say it - the privilege, of attending the conversation with Governor Hunt that went down last Tuesday…lets just say the Governor got one killer reception from members of Campaign. He was definitely shocked by our presence at the event. I'm sure that our unwitting Governor expected the sort of innocuous crowd that's naturally drawn to a seminar series called "Tuesdays with Friday" or whatever campy name Bill Friday, the emcee, drew out of a random pun generator.

Fortunately, the campy little reception was hijacked by a certain welcome wagon known as the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. Long before the Governor arrived, a modest amassment of protestors gathered in front of Graham Memorial. They came with signs - touting "Moratorium Now" slogans and "Hunt Hunt" imperatives. They covered the building in elephantine cloth banners, some big enough to mummify a public official. And, most importantly, the protestors brought some wickedly powerful vocal chords.

Meanwhile, four of us - John Johnson, Kara, Dave Neal, and I - infiltrated the parley, armed with some hard-hitting questions aimed at the Governor's position on the death penalty. But, it was a while before we broke out the heavy artillery. The first fifteen minutes were monopolized by Mr. Friday, who asked a few questions on behalf of the students. As fuhrer of the whole UNC system, Friday apparently has a better grip on the pulse of the student body than the students. Nevertheless, his queries gave Hunt the imprimatur to ramble on and on, looking every bit the dottering cad. And, in his response, the Governor broached his progressive stance on race relations - which broils down to the fact that he's vehemently opposed to segregation.

Anyway, the floor was eventually opened up for a freeform Q&A - and it was none other than our own Kara Mannix who got the first jab at the Governor. She deftly pointed out the irony in Governor's doublethink that he's a progressive on race issues, while supporting a death penalty that disproportionately targets minorities. She segued into the case of Dawud Abdula Muhammed, a black man who was executed despite tons of exculpatory evidence. Then, she confronted the Governor with the sundry untruths that he gave as his rationale for denying clemency to Dawud. In view of these "lies," she asked the Governor, "how can we trust you in the future?"

Governor Hunt pulled a McCain. His face went flush and he got real furious. If he'd been in a high chair, he would've been throwing mashed peas. In short, he replied that he spent "dozens of hours" reviewing the case. But, whether his head was shoved up his ass at the time of this meticulous analysis…well, the jury's still out on that one. He finished the rejoinder by stating that he supports the death penalty because it's the will of the people. And, because it deters crime.

Dave spoke next, and laid a pragmatic, fiscal question in front of the Governor. He asked Hunt how he could rationalize the death penalty, given the $2.1 million it costs, per prisoner, beyond the expense of life imprisonment. Hunt chalked the whole thing up to the death penalty's role a deterrent, positing that any expense is worth the price if it saves a life.

John volleyed back almost immediately, explaining - eloquently yet forcefully - that capital punishment is not a deterrent. And, he reiterated the racist predilections of the penalty. Moreover, he elucidated that other methods of crime prevention - methods like gun control that actually hinge on efficacy - are money much better spent. He prorated by asking the Governor to call for a moratorium, George Ryan style.

Of course, our mealy mouthed chief executive didn't hesitate to change the subject. He shot into a couple of trite, circumlocutory tales about how crime is a very bad thing. He suggested that the death penalty isn't racist, given that North Carolina executed its first African American only last year. However, Hunt managed to overlook the bald, glaring fact that over 60% of this state's death row population are minorities; a fact which John could've easily brought up in a rebuttal.

At any rate, John never got this rebuttal. And, I never got a chance to ask my question, which was sort of the kicker. I brought a manila folder, crammed full of evidence that capital punishment is NOT a deterrent. The folder contained pages of info, courtesy of the ACLU, the Center for Death Penalty Information, Reuters, and sociological journals from here to yaya and then some. Anyway, I kited off to the front of a line to shake hands with the governor, cutting in front of five or six saps who probably just wanted to glad hand the man. I guess I came off a little overeager, cause the Governor gets that look in his eyes, like he's about to pat me on the head and say, "don't forget to tell your parents to vote for me, kiddo." Anyway, I explained the damning evidence contained in the folder, and thrust it out for him to accept. Hunt handed the thing to some flunky, who probably used the mammoth stack of paper to make a sailboat for his kids.

Nevertheless, Campaign got the last word. As, the Governor exited the building, cravenly and through the back door, the protestors came from the front and massed around the schmendrick. Everyone was shouting and blaring that chant about how "Hunt says death row..." John Wexler gave the Governor a New Abolitionist. And, considering the durability of the paper, and the high quality pulp used in its manufacture, it probably made one hell of a mast for that aforementioned sailboat. Yet, just as things were getting exciting, the Gov screeched away from the shitstorm, in what John Johnson reports was the shiniest car he's ever seen.

I don't know about the car, but Campaign was certainly shining that day.