Outgoing North Carolina governor issues 2 pardons, 6 commutations

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted lengthy sentences in state prisons for six felons, five of whom were convicted of murder, and granted clemency to two others.

The innocence pardon, which the outgoing governor also signed Wednesday, allows people wrongfully imprisoned for wrongful felony convictions to seek monetary compensation from the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

One such pardon was once granted to Mark Crotts, who was convicted of murdering an elderly couple in Alamance County in 1990. Crotts served two years in prison, but his convictions were annulled by the court and he He was eventually acquitted in the retrial..

Other amnesty is gone Darron CarmonHe was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon at a Pitt County convenience store in 1994 and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Carmon, now a priest, maintained his innocence. He was exonerated in 2022 after a judge vacated his conviction after new evidence emerged.

Four of the changes resulted from recommendations from a special panel Cooper created during his second term to review petitions from people sentenced to prison for crimes committed when they were under 18.

Cooper also granted commutation to two other criminals who were sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 1990s. During this time, a law included a process by which these individuals’ sentences could be reviewed after 25 years by a court judge and the state parole commission in the county where the conviction occurred. Although that review law has since been repealed, it still applies to such offenders convicted at the time, Cooper’s office said.

“Ensuring that cases are carefully reviewed when the administration takes clemency action is a responsibility I take seriously,” Cooper said in a press release. “These individuals all deserve compassion, and we will continue to work to protect our communities and improve the fairness of our criminal justice system.”

The commutations, based on recommendations from the Juvenile Sentencing Review Board, were granted to George Lesane, 47, who served more than 30 years in prison for the murder of Larry McCormick in Robeson County; Donte Santiago, 40, who spent more than 23 years in prison for the murder of Frederick Howell in Onslow County; Kirston Angell, 35, who served 17 years in prison in Davie County for the murder of Bobby Boles and the assault of two other victims; and Terence Smith, 42, who spent nearly 25 years in prison for his involvement in a robbery in Forsyth County that injured three people.

Lesane and Smith will be released on Nov. 27, while Santiago will be eligible for immediate parole and Angell will be eligible for parole in January 2027, according to Cooper’s office.

Two other commutations, upon recommendations of the judges and the parole board, were granted to Penny Jarrett, 60, who is serving a life sentence without parole for 27 years for the murder of Henry Draughn in Guilford County; and Jesse Graham, 71, who is serving 26 years of a life sentence without parole for the murder of Jimmy Harris, also in Guilford County. Jarrett and Graham will also be eligible for immediate parole.

Cooper’s newsletter identified the various activities and rehabilitation efforts each of the six commutated offenders participated in while behind bars.