In 1987, Quentin Jones barged into a Person Street convenience store to rob it. He shot Eddie Peebles, a customer who had stopped by for a cup of coffee. Now 16 years later, Jackie Peebles, Eddie's sister, told Easley she wants to see Jones put to death.
"My thoughts are people have choices. Everybody does. He made a choice. Now, he has to suffer the consequences of his choice. My brother had no choice," she said.
"Basically, I feel the same way that my aunt does," said Mikiya Peebles, who was 7 years old when her father was murdered. "I [came] here to see closure."
Jones, who has been on Central Prison's death row since 1987, is scheduled to die Friday morning by lethal injection. He is portrayed by his family as a changed man, one who is remorseful for his crimes. If the execution happens on Friday, three of Peebles' relatives plan to watch Jones' execution.
A group of death penalty opponents gathered Wednesday afternoon in downtown Raleigh to protest the execution. The group wants the state to a pass a two-year moratorium on executions. Lawmakers denied such a bill during the last session.
North Carolina has executed 23 people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977. Two more executions are scheduled for next month.
Right now, 203 inmates are on death row at Central Prison in Raleigh. Five are women, including Blanche Taylor Moore, who poisoned her husband. Four people on death row right now are waiting to be re-sentenced after problems were found in their trials.
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