Dear CDPL Community,
I wanted to be the first to share the news with you. Late last week, the CDPL Board of Directors named me Executive Director. It is an incredible honor to carry on CDPL’s legacy as a leader of capital defense work in North Carolina. As I see it, my job description is simple: I will do everything in my power to ensure that no person is ever again executed in North Carolina.
I’ve been committed to this work since law school, when I participated in a death penalty clinic and became convinced capital punishment was our country’s greatest human rights violation. I joined CDPL in 2001, and in the years since, my greatest education has come from my clients on death row. Year after year, I watch them endure hardship with dignity and reach out to others with generosity and kindness. They remind me that no human life is without value. They inspire me not to give up even when the odds feel overwhelming.
Right now, the challenges we face are particularly daunting. This year, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill allowing not just the horror of lethal injections but the possibility of the grisly return of electrocutions and the use of the gas chamber. Some leaders seem determined to end North Carolina’s nearly 20-year pause on executions. Still, I believe we can continue to wage a successful fight against the death penalty. With your support, we have defied great odds before, and we will do it again.
As CDPL’s new Executive Director, I make one humble request as you prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Please make a year-end contribution to CDPL to ensure that 2026 will be another year without state-sponsored killing.
Wishing you a peaceful season,
Shelagh Kenney