§ 15-188. Manner and place of execution.

549 words·~2 min read·/nc/chapter-15/15-188

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Unless subsection

(b)of this section applies, the mode of executing a death sentence must in every case be by administering to the convict or felon an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until the person is dead, and that procedure shall be determined by the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction, who shall ensure compliance with the federal and State constitutions; and when any person, convict or felon shall be sentenced by any court of the State having competent jurisdiction to be so executed, the punishment shall only be inflicted within a permanent death chamber which the superintendent of the State penitentiary is hereby authorized and directed to provide within the walls of the North Carolina penitentiary at Raleigh, North Carolina. The superintendent of the State penitentiary shall also cause to be provided, in conformity with this Article, the necessary appliances for the infliction of the punishment of death and qualified personnel to set up and prepare the injection, administer the preinjections, insert the IV catheter, and to perform other tasks required for this procedure in accordance with the requirements of this Article.

(b)The Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction, within 120 days of notice of a judgment being entered that the method in subsection

(a)of this section has been declared unconstitutional by a North Carolina court of competent jurisdiction or notice that the method of execution provided for in subsection

(a)of this section is not available, must select another method of executing a death sentence that has been adopted by another state unless such method has been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. If the method of execution selected under this subsection is then declared unconstitutional by a North Carolina court of competent jurisdiction, then the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction shall select another method within 120 days of notice of such a judgment being entered.

(c)The Department of Adult Correction shall establish protocols and procedures within 120 days once the Department of Adult Correction establishes a method of execution pursuant to subsection

(b)of this section. The Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction shall immediately schedule a date for the execution of the original death sentence not more than 60 days from upon the establishment of the protocols and procedures in this subsection, or within the timeframe specified in G.S. 15-194, if applicable.

(d)The Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction shall report within 14 days the alternative method of execution chosen pursuant to subsection

(b)of this section to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations.

(e)The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Adult Correction shall report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations in every case in which a mode of execution under this section is challenged by a defendant, deemed unconstitutional by a North Carolina court of competent jurisdiction or is not an available mode for some other reason within 7 days of such event. (1909, c. 443, s. 2; C.S., s. 4658; 1935, c. 294, s. 2; 1983, c. 678, s. 2; 1998-212, s. 17.22(b); 2012-136, s. 1; 2013-154, s. 3(a); 2021-180, s. 19C.9(n); 2025-93, s. 6.5(b).)