North Carolina Democrat Senate hopeful Roy Cooper is under renewed scrutiny for commuting the death sentence of a convicted killer who robbed, raped, and murdered a 72-year-old woman in her own home.
As reported by Breitbart, Cooper used the final weeks of his second gubernatorial term in December 2024 to spare the life of Christopher Roseboro, who had been on death row since his 1994 conviction. Roseboros crimes date back to March 13, 1992, when he broke into the Gastonia apartment of Martha Gertie Edwards, a 72-year-old woman who shared a modest one-bedroom home with her husband.
During his trial, Roseboro admitted he had broken into Edwardss residence and chillingly testified that Edwards had been dead for at least an hour when he raped her. An autopsy revealed fresh bruising on her arms, nose, and lips, a dislocated shoulder, and fluid in her lungs, with the pathologist determining that her death was consistent with smothering.
According to the Gaston Gazette, Police found Edwards lying in bed in her nightgown, with her covers pulled up to her chest. A jury in 1994 convicted Roseboro of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree rape, felonious larceny, and possession of stolen property, and he was sentenced to death.
Roseboro appealed in 1997, and a second jury again imposed the death penalty, the Gazette reported. Yet Cooper, more than two decades later, chose to override those jury decisions and the painstaking work of law enforcement and prosecutors.
In a press release announcing the commutation, Cooper claimed his decision followed a process of thorough review, reflection, and prayer. The move was immediately celebrated by left-wing activists who have long sought to dismantle capital punishment regardless of the brutality of the crimes involved.
The ACLU praised Cooper for taking Roseboro off death row, saying, We have long known that the death penalty in North Carolina is racially biased, unjust, and immoral, and the Governors actions today pave the way for our state to move towards a new era of justice. The same far-left group continued applauding Cooper, saying he commuted more death sentences than any governor in North Carolinas history, while the Death Penalty Information Center labeled it the largest grant of capital clemency in state history.
These commutations for Roseboro and 14 others are distinct from Coopers controversial 2021 mass prison release, which freed 4,200 convicted criminals, nearly half of whom later reoffended. President Trump highlighted that earlier deal on Truth Social this week, likening Cooper to former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and underscoring the public-safety risks of soft-on-crime policies.
Cooper now faces Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolinas U.S. Senate race, where voters will decide whether his record of leniency toward violent offenders reflects their values. Early in-person voting in the state begins Thursday, Oct. 15, giving citizens an early opportunity to weigh Coopers actions against a growing demand for law and order.
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