North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper faces renewed accusations of being soft on crime after critics pointed to the January murder of teacher Zoe Welch by a career criminal who had been released after a Cooper-appointed judge reduced his charges despite twenty prior arrests.
Cooper is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Senator Thom Tillis in what is expected to be one of the most competitive midterm races. Welch was found dead in her home in January, with autopsy revealing she died from blunt force trauma to the head. Her accused murderer, Ryan Camacho, was facing four breaking and entering charges in April 2025.
"Despite having 20 prior arrests, Durham District Court Judge Dorothy Hairston Mitchell reduced his charges to a misdemeanor, allowing Camacho to walk free. Mitchell was appointed by Cooper in 2021 to serve as District Court Judge."
In a press release announcing Mitchell's appointment, Cooper praised her, stating she would lead with dedication and fairness. Critics argue Welch's death was preventable had the judge not reduced charges allowing a career criminal with twenty arrests back onto streets where he allegedly murdered a Raleigh science teacher. The case follows mounting scrutiny since the killing of Iryna Zarutska by a career criminal last summer.
Under Cooper's watch, thirty-five hundred inmates were released over a 180-day period in 2021 as part of a settlement agreement with civil rights groups who sued over inmates dying of Covid-19. Some released were convicted of serious offenses against children and sexual assault. Five hundred sixty inmates released during the Cooper administration were arrested on new charges within two years, including Tyrell Brace, later charged with first-degree murder.
Cooper's campaign points to his sixteen years as North Carolina's attorney general and legislation he signed making it easier to prosecute drug dealers who sell fatal doses as evidence of law enforcement support. However, his opponent Michael Whatley faces scrutiny for appointing convicted child sex offender Harvey Lee West to party positions in 2021 and 2024.
Welch's murder demonstrates the predictable consequences of soft-on-crime policies that prioritize criminal rights over public safety. A career criminal with twenty arrests should never have walked free on reduced misdemeanor charges, yet a Cooper-appointed judge made exactly that decision enabling the alleged murder of a teacher. While both candidates face legitimate criticisms—Cooper for judicial appointments producing tragic outcomes, Whatley for elevating a convicted sex offender—North Carolina voters must decide whether Cooper's criminal justice record disqualifies him from higher office when his policies and appointments have contributed to preventable deaths of innocent citizens.