Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice included Kerwin Pittman, a criminal-justice advocate with a prior conspiracy-to-commit-murder conviction. The appointment has drawn renewed attention during Cooper’s campaign as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.
What state records say about Pittman’s role
The governor’s official task-force page confirms Pittman’s membership and identifies him as the founder of Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services. Cooper established the group in June 2020 through Executive Order 145. Its leadership included then-Attorney General Josh Stein and state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls.
Criminal history and reform work
The Washington Free Beacon reported on September 1 that Pittman was convicted in 2007 of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and sentenced to more than 14 years. A separate 2008 North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion in State v. Jones describes Pittman as a ranking Bloods member in its account of the events surrounding a fatal 2006 shooting. That appeal concerned Michael Contrez Jones, not an appeal of Pittman’s conviction.
Pittman’s biography on his nonprofit’s website says he spent 11½ years incarcerated, including more than a year in solitary confinement, and that the experience motivated him to establish the organization. The group describes its mission as reducing recidivism in North Carolina.
In a response published by the Free Beacon, Pittman said he was invited to contribute because of both his experience and his community work. He acknowledged his past criminal conduct and gang involvement, describing them as events from his youth. Cooper’s spokesman defended his record as a prosecutor and governor in the same report.
What the advisory task force did
The task force brought together elected officials, law enforcement, advocates, judges and people with experience of the criminal-justice system. According to the governor’s office, it delivered recommendations in December 2020. Its membership and advisory role should be distinguished from later decisions by lawmakers and other officials about which proposals became policy.
