A death row inmate singled out by Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory has responded.

At a recent debate, the Charlotte mayor said that the moratorium on the death penalty should be lifted, noting that the convicted killer of two Queen City police officers was still on death row.

"Listen, this is personal to me," McCrory said. "Two young police officers that were shot by one man with their gun, and this man has still not been dealt with even though a jury of his peers convicted him ... There's no reason we should have the moratorium right now."

At the debate, McCrory did not name the killer, Alden J. Harden, but he did name the police officers, Andy Nobles and John Burnette. Harden was sentenced to death in August of 1994 for the killings, which took place the previous October.

Contacted by Dome at Central Prison in Raleigh, he said in a handwritten letter that Charlotte police have killed "many unarmed young black men" in recent years.

"I am being dealt with," he wrote. "The moratorium is set to help make sure that more people like you and my so called peers don't take it 'personal' as well, but rather look at the law. Because everyone has a right to fight for themselves under the law."

He wrote that "there's every reason" to have a moratorium.

The full text of McCrory's remarks and Harden's response after the jump.

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Central Prison in Raleigh has a new warden.

Gerald J. Branker will replace Marvin Polk, who recently retired as warden, state prison officials announced today. Branker was the prison's deputy warden.

Branker will head a prison that houses 1,000 adult male inmates and has a staff of 700. The prison plays several roles, including as the site of the state’s executions.

Branker began his career as a correctional officer at Central Prison in 1979.