Federal prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty against a 22-year-old man accused of the carjacking and murder of Eve Carson. The popular student body president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was killed on a street near the campus on March 5, 2008.Demario James Atwater also faces the death penalty on state charges of first-degree murder, robbery and kidnapping.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey approved last week the U.S. Attorney's Office request to seek the death penalty against Atwater. He has pleaded not guilty to four federal charges surrounding Carson's death, including carjacking resulting in death.
Authorities said Atwater and Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. kidnapped Carson at gunpoint, forced her to withdraw money from ATM machines and then shot her five times and left her in the middle of a street near the university campus.
Lovette is not eligible for the death penalty because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.
See Also:
Feds to Seek Death Penalty in UNC Student Slaying
Background:
The Murder of Eve Carson
Forum:
Discuss The Eve Carson Case
Photo: University of North Carolina
Comments
The Feds come in second on this one. If they really want to be useful why don’t they find a way to charge Lovett with a crime for which he can be put to death. Lovett was on probation for two crimes when he murdered 2 people. I don’t care if he was 5 years old what he did was 100% as bad as what Atwater did. Why should Atwater be treated different simply because he is a few years older.
The Feds are right. These boys decided to execute Eve for no reason. We have to punish terrorism internally before we set out to correct other countries.
I’m against the death penalty. But not in this case. These men executed a woman who devoted her life to helping people like them (poor, under-educated, etc.) Her last hours were terrifying and horrific. These men could have simply robbed Eve. But no, they had to shoot her again, again, again, again, again, again. Six times.
Can prison rehabilitate these young men? I don’t see how.
If a guy is able to use a gun to kill, he must be eligible for the death penalty no matter what his age. He held the gun in his hand. He aimed it. He squeezed the trigger. Bingo, he deserves the death penalty. The least punishment in this case is life without parole at hard labor to earn his keep in jail.
It is a sick society that spends millions in bringing unwanted children to life, supporting unwed mothers on welfare and condoning the absconding fathers. Then, more millions on the criminal justice system building jails to punish them and more millions to ‘rehabilitate’ them. Instead, can’t we just start distributing money without asking any questions?
It’s terrible what they did to her. The boys mother truly tried to get her son help. She is the one who tried to turn him in everytime her son got in trouble. They turned her away. The probation he was on was a waste because the probation officer didn’t take the boys mother pleas serious. The police treated his mother horribly. The same police that kicked her door in, are the same police the boys mother pleaded with to take her son and lock him up. It’s sad he had to kill somebody for them to finally do something. Gang life is a drug, parents grab your children and hold on for dear life. It’s just a sad situation, for both families.