Governor adds former gang member to NC racial‑justice task force as father says Senate ad exploits his son's murder
Governor Roy Cooper named Kerwin Pittman, a former ranking member of the Bloods who was convicted of conspiracy to commit first‑degree murder, to the state's Racial Equity in Criminal Justice task force. Pittman, now 39, also serves as director of policy for Emancipate NC, a group that advocates police abolition. The task force, created in 2020, has issued reform proposals that have been largely rejected by the Republican supermajority in the legislature.
Meanwhile, Ronald Hayes, whose son Shemar was murdered in Charlotte on March 12, 2024, says a television ad funded by the Senate Leadership Fund and supporting Senate candidate Michael Whatley uses his story to falsely connect the killing to a 2021 settlement that released thousands of prisoners, implying the murderer was among those released. Hayes says he was misled into participating and only learned of the ad after it aired.
How this was covered
- Left-leaning outlets covered this 38h later
- The two sides describe this in almost entirely different words
Why it matters
The developments show how political advertising and state‑level criminal‑justice initiatives are intersecting with personal tragedy and controversial policy positions.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage centers on a father accusing a political ad of falsely using his son's murder story, while right-leaning coverage concentrates on criticism of Governor Cooper for appointing a convicted former gang member to a racial-justice task force.
LEFT
Frames the story as a misleading political advertisement that exploits a grieving father’s tragedy.
RIGHT
Frames the story as a scandalous appointment of a convicted ex-gang member to a criminal-justice reform task force, implying a soft-on-crime agenda.
The left emphasises
- the ad "falsely connects" the killing to a 2021 settlement
- records show the claim is "impossible" because the alleged murderer was never incarcerated
- the father was "misled" into participating in the advertisement
The right emphasises
- Cooper added a former Bloods gang member convicted of conspiracy to commit murder to the task force
- the task force’s reforms were largely rejected by the Republican supermajority
- critics label the task force’s approach as "soft-on-crime"
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Governor Cooper adds convicted ex-gang member to North Carolina racial-justice task force
- Sep 7 Governor Cooper appointed former Bloods member Kerwin Pittman to the Racial Equity in Criminal Justice task force.
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