State and local civil rights leaders held the "Pardons of Innocence Faith Rally" Tuesday night in Wilmington.

 

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overturned the convictions of the suspects in 1980, but rally supporters want pardons from Gov. Beverly Perdue.

 

The president of the North Carolina NAACP, the Rev. William J. Barber II, says pardons would restore justice.

 

Supporters hope to gather 100,000 signatures of support for the pardons.

 

The group had been convicted in 1972.