Death penalty faces enmity

On the eve of North Carolina's second execution in two weeks, opponents of capital punishment gathered on campus to reflect upon the execution of a convicted murderer.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Congregations for the Abolition of Capital Punishment hosted a vigil for Charles Roache at the Newman Catholic Student Center Parish.

Roache was scheduled for death by lethal injection at 2:00 a.m. today at Central Prison in Raleigh. Although he has confessed his crimes to authorities, attendees said he still does not deserve to die.

"I'm against (capital punishment) because I think that if God were standing here, he would tell us not to kill his child," said Kristen Brown, a Chapel Hill attorney and member of the University United Methodist Church.

In April 2001, the Haywood County Superior Court sentenced Roache to death for the murders of Mitzi Phillips, 44, and her 14-year-old daughter, Katie.

He also received life sentences for the murders of the three other Phillips family members. The Alexander County Superior Court also sentenced him to life for the murder of Chad Watt.

During the service, attendees stressed that Roache suffered hardships throughout his childhood that might have given him a skewed moral perspective. Brown said he lived with alcoholic and abusive parents, dropped out of school and began using drugs at a young age.

"His father would give away his toys and clothes, and his mother would kill his pets in front of him," she said. "That Charles Roache developed from an abused child who begged his bus driver to take him home with him ... into an adult who abused drugs and alcohol, and who was filled with anger and rage, is no surprise to most of us."

Nancy Jeannechild, another church member, mentioned that childhood abuse affects the development of the brain.

"It's not that (convicts) won't act in caring ways, it's that they can't," she said. "... Terrible things happen to children when they're little, and they learn that that's OK."

In the closing prayer, the Rev. Suzanne Dornsmith, associate pastor for University United Methodist Church, hoped for the well-being of those affected by the execution.

She also prayed for an end to capital punishment. "God, we pray for our state and for our nation when we allow this death to happen," she said.

Before attending the vigil, UNC's Campaign to End the Death Penalty met to acknowledge N.C. death row inmates.

People at the gathering read aloud the names of those on death row and stated their reasons for opposing capital punishment.

"I oppose the death penalty because you cannot honor life by taking a life," said UNC junior Josh Glasser.

Others cited mitigating factors, such as poor performances by public defenders, as reasons that cause juries to choose capital punishment over life imprisonment.

In addition to acknowledging inmates, attendees kept in mind the victims and those who knew them.

Members then dipped their hands into red paint and placed them onto a petition supporting a moratorium on the death penalty they will send to Gov. Mike Easley.

UNC freshman Ryan Presley said the high emotions that accompany violent crimes can lead to support for the death penalty.

"Sometimes we get caught up in the descriptions of their crimes," Presley said. "Our instinct tells us that by getting rid of them, we're serving justice."

But Presley said opposing capital punishment demonstrates the human capacity for compassion.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.