North Carolina HB 270: Revise Law on the Death Penalty.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 270

Short Title: Revise Law on the Death Penalty. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Willis, Pyrtle, Miller, and Ward (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, State and Local Government, if favorable, Rules,
Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 5, 2025
*H270-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REVISE THE METHODS OF EXECUTION AVAILABLE FOR A PERSON 2
CONVICTED OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 15-187 is repealed. 5
SECTION 2. G.S. 15-188 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 15-188. Manner and place of execution. 7
(a) Any person convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to death shall be executed 8
in accordance with this section and the remainder of this Article. The warden of Central Prison 9
may obtain and employ the drugs necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article, regardless 10
of contrary provisions in Chapter 90 of the General Statutes. 11
(b) In accordance with G.S. 15-187, the mode of executing a death sentence must in every 12
case be by administering to the convict or felon an intravenous injection of a substance or 13
substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until the person is dead, and that 14
procedure shall be determined by the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction, who shall 15
ensure compliance with the federal and State constitutions; and when any person, convict or felon 16
shall be sentenced by any court of the State having competent jurisdiction to be so executed, the 17
punishment shall only be inflicted within a permanent death chamber which the superintendent 18
of the State penitentiary is hereby authorized and directed to provide within the walls of the North 19
Carolina penitentiary at Raleigh, North Carolina. A person convicted of a criminal offense and 20
sentenced to death shall be executed by electrocution or, at the election of the convicted person, 21
by firing squad or lethal injection, if it is available at the time of election, under the direction of 22
the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction. The election for death by electrocution, 23
firing squad, or lethal injection must be made in writing 14 days before each execution date or it 24
is waived. If the convicted person receives a stay of execution or the execution date has passed 25
for any reason, then the election expires and must be renewed in writing 14 days before a new 26
execution date. If the convicted person waives the right of election, then the penalty must be 27
administered by electrocution. 28
(c) If the mode of executing a death sentence is by lethal injection, the warden of Central 29
Prison may obtain and employ the drugs necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article, 30
regardless of contrary provisions in Chapter 90 of the General Statutes. The superintendent of 31
the State penitentiary shall also cause to be provided, in conformity with this Article, the 32
necessary appliances for the infliction of the punishment of death and qualified personnel to set 33
up and prepare the injection, administer the preinjections, insert the IV catheter, and to perform 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 270-First Edition
other tasks required for this procedure in accordance with the requirements of this 1
Article.appliances. 2
(d) Upon receipt of the notice of execution, the Secretary of the Department of Adult 3
Correction shall determine and certify by affidavit under penalty of perjury to the North Carolina 4
Supreme Court whether the methods provided in subsection (a) of this section are available. 5
(e) A person convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death prior to the effective 6
date of this section must be administered death by electrocution, unless the person elects death 7
by firing squad or lethal injection, if it is available, in writing 14 days before the execution date. 8
(f) If execution by lethal injection under this section is determined and certified pursuant 9
to subsection (d) of this section to be unavailable by the Secretary of the Department of Adult 10
Correction or is held to be unconstitutional by an appellate court of competent jurisdiction, then 11
the manner of inflicting a death sentence must be by electrocution, unless the convicted person 12
elects death by firing squad. 13
(g) The execution shall only be administered within a permanent death chamber which 14
the superintendent of the State penitentiary is hereby authorized and directed to provide within 15
the walls of the North Carolina penitentiary at Raleigh, North Carolina. 16
(h) The Department of Adult Correction shall provide written notice to a convicted 17
person of the person's right to election under this section and the available methods. 18
(i) The Department of Adult Co