Roy Cooper’s ‘Racial Equity in Criminal Justice’ Task Force Addition Sparks Discussion
Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor of North Carolina, now a Senate candidate, included a former member of the Bloods gang in a ‘Racial Equity in Criminal Justice’ task force created in 2020. This decision came after George Floyd’s death, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon.
Cooper, who appointed then Attorney General Josh Stein to lead the task force, assembled a diverse panel of state officials and community activists. Among them was Kerwin Pittman, convicted in 2007 for conspiracy to commit murder, serving 14 years in prison. Pittman was also identified as a ‘ranking member of the Bloods’ during a murder trial for a Bloods member.
Pittman defended his role in the task force, stating his past actions were due to poor judgment as a teenager.
“I was asked to contribute to conversations about criminal justice reform because of both my lived experience and the work I was doing in communities,” Pittman told the Free Beacon. He emphasized that his gang involvement and criminal activities occurred at or before age 19, stating, “I am now 39 years old.”
Pittman’s conviction related to a 2006 drive-by shooting, and he expressed that decisions made in his youth led to serious consequences, including over a decade of incarceration.
At the time of the task force’s formation, Pittman worked for Emancipate NC, which often called for police abolition. A company blog post in 2023 stated, “maintaining white supremacy has always been the goal of policing.”
Roy Cooper, competing against former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, commented on his opponent’s record following the Free Beacon report.
The Cooper campaign issued a statement contrasting Roy’s record of addressing violent crime with Whatley’s, pointing to the appointment of a registered sex offender to a significant role within the North Carolina Republican Party.
Pittman and Whatley’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.