Groups Protest Death Penalty
The Daily Tar Heel
By Matt Mansfield
Staff Writer
Published November 8, 2000

Men in black took turns locking themselves in chains and lying on a gurney in front of the Franklin Street post office on Tuesday to protest the scheduled execution of Michael Earl Sexton.

The Charles M. Jones Peace and Justice Committee, the UNC Campaign to End the Death Penalty and People of Faith Against the Death Penalty offered pedestrians walking by the chance to vote for a second time and decide whether they would execute Sexton, convicted in 1991 of rape and murder.

His execution is scheduled 26 hours after the elections have finished, which the groups feel have overshadowed this issue.

"I'm against the death penalty," said Liz Sears, a senior anthropology major who signed a poster on display. "I think it's good to bring it to the forefront and educate people about it."

The display encouraged people to sign their names to one of the two statements. The first poster stated, "By signing below, I declare that I would personally kill Michael Sexton." The poster remained blank, except for mock endorsements by George W. Bush and Burley Mitchell, a former Supreme Court justice in North Carolina.

"He was notorious for upholding death sentences," explained John Johnson, head of the UNC Campaign to End the Death Penalty.

The other poster, which stated "By signing below, I declare that I would not kill Michael Sexton," quickly filled up with names.

Organizers, who donned black armbands signaling Sexton's scheduled execution, said they were pleased at the turnout. "A lot of people have been coming up," Johnson said. "These aren't a select group of liberals. They're just people coming up and signing."

Stephen Dear of the PFADP talked into a megaphone and intrigued pedestrians with statements such as, "Would you poison a human being that committed a horrible crime?"

A banner in red lettering also drew people's attention, reading, "Moratorium Now! Stop Executions in N.C."

Passersby responded by filling up the posterboard with signatures in an hour.
Organizers also had a petition for people to sign that called for a moratorium on executions. "I definitely think we need to have a moratorium on the death penalty so people's guilt can be re-evaluated," said Amber Chubonie, a senior political science major who signed the poster. "It's really hard to get a fair trial if you don't have money because public defenders are often inexperienced and underpaid."

Daniel Pollitt, a retired law professor at UNC, offered evidence that Sexton's attorney was inexperienced. He said the judge in the trial did not tell the jury to look at sociological factors in Sexton's crime and his attorney did not raise that issue in the appeal.

Rev. Charlie Kast, playing Sexton on the gurney, said that lying down he could see the flag in front of the post office blowing. "The flag stands for freedom," he said. "It didn't work for me."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.