Gell, Hunt lobby for moratorium

RALEIGH — As the crowd waited patiently, Alan Gell and Darryl Hunt sat silently on stage in the auditorium of the N.C. Museum of History.

Both men served hard time in N.C. prisons. Hunt was twice sentenced to life in prison, and Gell sat for years on death row.

But there was another common thread between the two: their innocence.

The pair spoke Wednesday of their time in prison, the pain they experienced and their continuing search for justice.

They came together to voice support for a bill in the N.C. General Assembly. The measure, introduced March 9, would create a two-year moratorium on executions while a special panel would review the state’s death penalty system.

The stop in Raleigh was part of a statewide tour featuring former inmates who are calling for the temporary halt.

Gell, tried and convicted of murdering Allen Ray Jenkins in 1995, was sentenced to death in 1998. Hunt spent 18 years in prison for the murder of Deborah Sykes.

Both were found innocent in 2004.

But Gell said he fears there might be others on death row who are innocent.

“I believed I was the only man in the world that this was happening to,” he said. “I have been told I was the 113th person exonerated from death row.”

Hunt also said the problem must be fixed before other innocents die.

“I sat in prison because the system refused to do the right thing,” Hunt said. “We have a chance and an opportunity to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“We as a people need to stop for a second and study this system so people don’t go through the mental torture and death for something they didn’t do.”

To achieve this goal, Hunt said, the moratorium bill must pass.

Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, a sponsor of the proposal, expressed his belief in the bill.

“I think we have a good chance to get the necessary majority,” he said.

“I think the point that bill supporters are pushing is we need two years to develop legislation to correct flaws in the death penalty system.”

“There are a lot of problems that many people on death row are poor and could not afford a lawyer and that racial bias played a role, along with other issues. We need to look into those.”

A similar proposal passed in 2003 in the N.C. Senate but never came to a vote in the House.

Gell said the bill would appoint a study commission to propose ideas on how to restructure the death penalty system.

“I think we are going to get a vote this time, and we will get it to pass,” Gell said. “We are in a lot better shape this year than last.”

“I’d hate worse than anything in this world to see the moratorium not pass this time.”

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