Month-long protest draws attention to clemency powers

BY MARY HELEN JONES | DECEMBER 27, 2022 3:00 PM

RALEIGH, N.C. — People behind the Vigil for Freedom and Racial Justice are holding a month-long observance asking Gov. Roy Cooper to exercise his clemency powers.

The month of December is not the most enjoyable to spend outside.

The temperature, however, is not what Kristie Puckett Williams has her eyes on as she stands outside of the North Carolina Executive Mansion.

She is focused on Gov. Roy Cooper and his clemency powers.

Puckett Williams is one of the minds behind the Vigil For Freedom and Racial Justice, which began two years ago after a turbulent year.

She works for the ACLU of North Carolina.

The vigil takes place outside of the North Carolina Executive Mansion in downtown Raleigh, calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to use his clemency powers.

“What we we’re saying ‘well, you know, that the system is racially inequitable. You know that Black Lives do matter, and the majority of people incarcerated in North Carolina prisons are black, then you should be doing everything you can to make sure those people experience justice,’” Puckett Williams said.

Read more at: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-sandhills/politics/2022/12/27/month-long-protest-draws-attention-to-clemency-powers