RALEIGH, NC – Today, NAACP North Carolina State Conference President Deborah Dicks Maxwell issued the following statement on behalf of the more than 120 NAACP units and 30,000 NAACP members across the state condemning Governor Josh Stein’s decision to sign House Bill 307 into law, despite urgent calls from civil rights leaders and communities across the state to reject this regressive and dangerous legislation:
“HB 307 is nothing more than cruelty disguised as public safety. By signing it, Governor Stein chose cruelty over justice, and the legislators from both parties who pushed it forward are equally responsible for this shameful failure of leadership. North Carolina’s death penalty has always been poisoned by racism, and adding new methods of execution is barbaric.
Instead of investing in mental health and prevention, our leaders chose to drag us backward into racial terror and political fearmongering. History will remember those who failed the people of North Carolina.”
The NAACP has fought for over a century to end racial terror and ensure equal justice under the law. House Bill 307 disregards this progress, doubling down on a system proven to be unjust, racially biased, and deeply flawed.
NAACP North Carolina will continue to stand with communities most impacted by this legislation and fight for a justice system that protects dignity, fairness, and life.