Senate Bill 109 Summary

• Repeals the death penalty in North Carolina and establishes life imprisonment without parole as the maximum punishment for all capital offenses.

• Requires the Attorney General to petition courts to resentence all current death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

• Removes statutory references to capital punishment across multiple statutes, including those governing habitual felons, violent habitual felons, and first-degree murder sentencing.

• Eliminates death penalty postconviction proceedings and related appellate defender duties while preserving evidence retention requirements for life sentences.

• Clarifies that medical professionals administering lethal substances in executions do not violate medical licensing laws, effective upon bill enactment and applying retroactively to all death-sentenced individuals.