Death Penalty, 1936, 1948, 1961-2016

Access Restrictions:

Access note: Series contains fragile audiovisual/photographic formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access restricted. Series contains correspondence with sensitive content to and from incarcerated persons who are still living. These files have been segregated and are closed until 2060 or the death of the individual. Materials by and about deceased inmates are open to research access. Contact Research Services for more information.

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Physical description:
102 boxes
Scope and content:

The Death Penalty series, the largest in the collection, documents advocacy and research to eliminate the death penalty in NC, nationally, and globally; it includes records assembled by Alan McGregor in the 1970s, the Carolina Justice Policy Center (CJPC), and other organizations whose files were inherited by CJPC or who were in partnership with CJPC. There are many materials deriving from the Prison and Jail Project, both in its role as the predecessor organization to CJPC (1975-1982), and, after 1982, as a CJPC-based program.

In addition to organizational records, there are almost thirty boxes of materials by or about incarcerated people, chiefly white and African American men but also including several boxes of records about one woman, Velma Barfield, who was executed in 1984, the only woman to be executed in NC since the 1940s. Their case files typically include correspondence, writings, case information, clippings, and a few pieces of artwork by inmates.

Series content in general includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, casework, legislative information, many handwritten notes, and materials documenting a wide variety of support programs for individuals on death row and their families and allies at local, regional, and national levels. There are large numbers of print materials throughout, such as published reports, statistical charts, newsletters and other grassroots publications, pamphlets, fliers, and news clippings. The series also includes several videos and a film about the death penalty.

Most of the materials originate from North Carolina, but there are many informational materials about capital punishment in other states, and a few materials about the death penalty in countries such as Japan and South Africa. Many of the materials also document religious organizations speaking out against the death penalty.

Materials documenting the work of the Prison and Jail Project are also found in the Prisons subseries, Projects and Partnerships series; these files contains records about several prison-related programs, including the "Friends and Families" program designed to support friends and families of the incarcerated.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following subseries: Alan McGregor Files; Incarcerated People; Juveniles; Mental Disabilities; Moratorium; Organizations; Racial Justice; Sentencing; and Subject Files.

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Collection restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains some fragile audiovisual/photographic formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Collection contains some electronic materials that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Access restricted. Collection contains correspondence to and from incarcerated persons who are still living. These files have been segregated and are closed until 2060 or the death of the individual. Materials by and about deceased inmates are open to research access. Contact Research Services for more information.

Use & permissions:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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