Cooper pardons 2 men whose convictions were set aside

By Michael White Raleigh

PUBLISHED 7:04 PM ET Nov. 13, 2024 PUBLISHED 7:04 PM EST Nov. 13, 2024

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday issued two pardons of innocence for men who served time in prison before courts set their convictions aside.

Mark Crotts was found guilty on two counts of murder in 1992 and served two years in state prison before his conviction was set aside in 1994. He was retried twice, resulting in a hung jury and acquittals on both counts.

Darron Carmon, who was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in 1994 and served over 7 years in state prison, had his conviction set aside in 2022.

Cooper also commuted the sentences of four offenders who were convicted of crimes committed when they were juveniles. The cases were examined by a Juvenile Sentence Review Board.

The pardons and commutations were announced Wednesday evening in a press release from the governor’s office.

The four convicted of crimes as juveniles are:

Kirston Angell, 35, has served 17 years for murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He was 16 at the time of the crimes and will be eligible for parole in January 2027.
George Lesane, 47, has served over 30 years for a murder committed when he was 17. He will be released Nov. 27.
Donte Santiago, 40, has served 23 years for a murder committed when he was 16 and is now eligible for parole.
Terence Smith, 42, has served almost 25 years for involvement in a robbery when he was 17 in which three people were shot and wounded. He will be released Nov. 27.

The two others also had their sentences commuted.

Penny Jarrett, 60, and Jesse Graham, 71, each had been sentenced to life without parole for murder. They received commutations under a now-repealed law that set up a review of life-without-parole sentences. Both are now eligible for parole.

“We carefully consider recommendations made by the Juvenile Sentence Review Board to commute sentences for crimes committed by minors," Cooper said in the press release. "All of these individuals are deserving of clemency and we will continue to work to protect our communities and improve the fairness of our criminal justice system."