Execution protesters guilty of trespassing

RALEIGH -- They discussed the Book of Romans and the civil rights movement, listened to an expert explain how the Catholic Church opposes executions and asked a judge to overrule the death penalty.

But in the end, a Wake County judge on Monday found 10 death penalty opponents guilty of second-degree trespassing after they admitted in court that despite warnings from police, they had trespassed onto Central Prison.

After finding each guilty, Judge Don Overby continued the judgment for each defendant. This disposition means no conviction will appear on the defendants' records and the charges will be listed as pending indefinitely.

The protesters represented themselves during the unusual hearing. The normally bustling Wake County courtroom was packed with defendants and lawyers who waited patiently to settle misdemeanor offenses while the death penalty opponents had their day in court.

"We chose to break that law because we felt a greater law was being broken," said Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, 25, who took the stand on behalf of the 10 defendants. "We knowingly trespassed to prevent a homicide that was planned by the state."

Those charged with second-degree trespassing from the Jan. 19 and March 16 protests were: David Eugene Arthur, Elizabeth Brockman, Matthew S. Gates, Eric R. Getty, William Gural, Scott Langley, Sheila McCarthy, Daniel Schwankl, Leah Wilson-Hartgrove and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. The defendants are a loosely organized group of Christian activists.

Before executions in January and March, the group approached police and delivered letters outlining what they planned on doing and invited officers to join them in halting the death penalty, Langley said.

The group stood outside the prison peacefully protesting and, a few hours before the scheduled execution, attempted to walk down the prison driveway from Western Boulevard, according to testimony from Monday's hearing. When police told the protesters that they were trespassing, they sat or knelt while praying or singing until handcuffed.

Overby said he was honored that the group called for him to declare the death penalty illegal but said he did not have the authority to change the law and was charged only with ruling on whether the group had violated the state's trespassing laws.

To appeal Overby's decision, the group could have asked Overby to issue a sentence Monday, but they opted against that.