In one of his final acts in office, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men convicted of murder to life in prison without parole on Tuesday, reducing the state's death row population by more than 10%.

Governor Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without possibility of parole on New Year’s Eve following five years of vigils outside the governor’s mansion and a two-year sustained campaign to grant clemency to all inmates sentenced to death.