Death penalty fought in Carson case
Attorneys for one of the two men accused of murdering Clarke Central high School graduate and University of North Carolina student body president Eve Marie Carson want a federal judge to take the death penalty off the table.
Prosecutors "arbitrarily"selected 23-year-old Demario James Atwater for the death penalty and violated federal protocols for seeking a death sentence, the attorneys argue in motions filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greensboro,N.C. The case is the first federal death penalty case in North Carolina since passage of the Federal Death Penalty Act of 2004.
The other man accused of murdering Carson on March 5, 2008 - LaurenceLovette Jr. - was 17 at the time, too young for capital punishment under state and federal law.
Authorities allegeAtwater and Lovette kidnapped Carson from her home in Chapel Hill,N.C., forced her into her Toyota Highlander and drove to ATMs to withdraw $1,400 from her bank account.
They then drove to a quiet neighborhood not far from Carson's home, where Lovetteshot her four times with a pistol and Atwater shot her once with a shotgun, according to court documents.
Carson, 22, was valedictorian of Clarke Central High School's Class of 2004.
Atwaterand Lovette both face state charges that include first-degree murder,kidnapping and armed robbery, but only Atwater has been indicted in federal court.
"The criteria that Atwater is death eligible because he is not a minor is not a sufficient justification for him standing trial alone in federal court," wrote Kimberly Stevens,one of two attorneys who represent Atwater.
"If this case was truly about justice, and not simply about obtaining a death sentence, the federal government would have indicted Lovette," Stevens said.



















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