Death penalty opponents walk NC roads in protest

RALEIGH -- Death penalty opponents are planning a 300-mile walk around eastern North Carolina to lobby for abolition of capital punishment in the state. The group called Sojourners for Abolition and Reconciliation began walking Sunday in Raleigh on a route that will take the walkers to Wilson on Tuesday. The route includes Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Greenville, Kinston, New Bern, Jacksonville, Goldsboro and Smithfield. The march is scheduled to end June 30 at the state Legislature. Organizer Scott Bass said the walk is to remember murder victims, people on death row and all their families. The march sponsors are Nazareth House and co-sponsored by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and other groups. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)