May 6

May 6 Freedom Banquet for Charles McNeair set for May 18

Advocates for Charles McNeair, a local nonprofit dedicated to seeking clemency for an imprisoned Lexington man, will hold a Freedom Banquet on Saturday, May 18, in the fellowship hall of First Reformed United Church of Christ at 104 E. Center St. in Lexington.

The fundraiser will begin at 6 p.m. and includes a meal; music, including a performance by Voices of New Hope, the choir from New Hope Holiness Church in Lexington and speakers, including board members from the local advocacy group and Kristie Puckett, an advocate against mass incarceration in several statewide organizations.

Tickets, which are $25 each or $200 for a table for eight, can be purchased by contacting the Rev. Lester Smith, the co-chair of the advocacy group’s board of directors, a member of the Davidson County NAACP and associate pastor at Union Baptist Church. Rev. Smith can be contacted at (850) 225-0242.

McNeair was a 16-year-old black teenager when he was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to a second-degree rape charge and felony breaking and entering in 1979.

The Lexington native, who was functionally illiterate at that time, maintains his innocence and said he had a consensual relationship with the 57-year-old white woman.

Despite a lack of physical evidence, McNeair has said, he took the plea deal because he was told by his attorney he could face the death penalty if he didn’t.

Now, 44 years later, Advocates for Charles McNeair are seeking clemency for the man who has spent his entire adult life in prison.

His supporters note he would be tried as a juvenile today and if he were convicted of the same crimes today as an adult the maximum sentence would be around 15 years.

He has been denied parole several times as well even though he eventually obtained his GED, some college course credit, participated in Bible studies and mentored fellow inmates.

In September 2022, McNeair’s supporters petitioned for clemency from N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, who established the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, which reviews sentences imposed on individuals who were tried as adults for crimes committed before they were 18.

Gov. Cooper has had McNeair’s petition since then but the status remains “pending,” even though there have been public rallies in support of clemency at the Davidson County Courthouse in Lexington and at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh.

At that rally in December of last year, the local group was joined by Decarcerate Now, a coalition of activists that is part of the ACLU of North Carolina. The group has also met with the governor’s general counsel.

In June of 2023, the Lexington City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking Cooper to grant McNeair clemency and commute his sentence to time served. The resolution states “The council recognizes the concerns of Lexington citizens regarding racism in Charles Anthony McNeair’s case and the importance of acknowledging that systemic racism has often led to unnecessarily harsh sentences for people of color.”

Wanda Cox, chair of Advocates for Charles McNeair, said in a recent video posting on the group’s Facebook page the group is still seeking to meet with Gov. Cooper himself to make their case for clemency before his term expires in December of this year. “We know Gov. Cooper has made many statements about judicial reform and juvenile sentencing lookbacks,” Cox said.

Rev. Smith said the purpose of the Freedom Banquet is two-fold. It will serve as a fundraiser for McNeair to provide support to him while he’s incarcerated and, hopefully, after he is released and transitions back to the Lexington community.

The other purpose is to raise community awareness about his case and keep momentum moving forward in seeking his release through the clemency petition. Smith said the advocacy group has sent more than 500 postcards from local residents to the governor’s office asking him to approve clemency and has another 500 on order for individuals to sign to show community support for his release.

The group has also encouraged people to send the governor letters and emails. “Caught in the political climate we’re in now, it may be until after the (Nov. 5) election before any action is taken,” Smith said, noting Cooper’s term ends at the end of the year.