Those of 17 years and above are eligible for execution

Those of 17 years and above are eligible for execution.
In August 2001, the death penalty was forbidden for mentally retarded and in May Governor Easley ratified a law approved by the Parliament that would allow prosecutors to seek life in prison without parole for serious crimes. North Carolina does have life without parole.
A 2002 law permits public prosecutors to ask for life imprisonment without the possibility of parole instead of obliging them to push for the death penalty in cases of first degree murder.
A jury decides the sentence. The Governor has the exclusive authority to grant clemency.