Covering the Condemned: An examination of changes in North Carolina capital punishment coverage before and after the 2006 moratorium

North Carolina has not carried out an execution since 2006 because a series of legal and policy hurdles led to a de facto death penalty moratorium. Despite efforts by the Republican General Assembly to restart capital punishment, executions remain on hold indefinitely. There is more than a century of evidence suggesting newspaper coverage influences death penalty policy. More recent scholarship established connections between certain frames and modes of coverage and public death penalty support. My study entailed analyzing a representative sample of 16 years of death penalty articles in four of North Carolina’s highest circulation newspapers to examine how the moratorium impacted coverage. I used a scoring scheme to calculate how much prominence death penalty coverage received pre- and post-moratorium, as indicated by article placement, word count and photograph and graphic inclusion. I also studied source choices and stances expressed by those sources, the inclusion of “innocence frames” and whether articles cited the death penalty’s alternative punishment: life without parole. I found that coverage has steadily declined since 2001 but dropped precipitously after the moratorium came into effect. My findings also demonstrated how articles post-moratorium received less prominence while references to innocence and life without parole trended downward. In sum, the moratorium had a profound impact on the amount of death penalty information newspaper readers receive. Future research should examine death penalty coverage in other states to help researchers develop a deeper understanding for how legal and policy developments impact widely disseminated information about this policy topic.Bachelor of Art

Alpha-Alkyl-alpha-amino-beta-sulphone Hydroxamates as Potent MMP Inhibitors that Spare MMP-1

A series of α-alkyl-α-amino-β-sulphone hydroxamates was prepared and evaluated for potency versus MMP-2 and MMP-13, and for selectivity versus MMP-1. Low nanomolar potency was obtained with selectivity versus MMP-1 ranging from \u3e10 to \u3e1000. Selected compounds were orally bioavailable

MMP-13 Selective Alpha-sulfone Hydroxamates: Identification of Selective P1\u27 Amides

Continuing our interest in designing compounds preferentially potent and selective for MMP-13, we report on a series of hydroxamic acids with a flexible amide P1\u27 substituents. We identify an amide which spares both MMP-1 and -14, and shows \u3e500 fold selectivity for MMP-13 versus MMP-2 and -8

α-Amino-β-sulphone hydroxamates as potent MMP-13 inhibitors that spare MMP-1

A series of α-amino-β-sulphone hydroxamates was prepared and evaluated for potency versus MMP-13 and selectivity versus MMP-1. Various substituents were employed on the α-amino group (P1 position), as well as different groups attached to the sulphone group extending into P1′. Low nanomolar potency was obtained for MMP-13 with selectivity versus MMP-1 of \u3e1000× for a number of analogues. α-Amino-β-sulphone hydroxamates were prepared, which are potent MMP-13 inhibitors with selectivity versus MMP-1 of \u3e1000× for a number of analogues. Selected compounds exhibited oral bioavailability