A North Carolina prosecutor has announced he will seek the death penalty in a case where the victim spoke out against capital punishment and her family opposes it. Before her death, college student and University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson told fellow students gathered for a death penalty discussion that she did not agree with the death penalty due to the flaws in its application. She noted, “It doesn’t work, in my opinion.” After Carson’s murder, her family told Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall that they oppose capital punishment and believe their daughter did too.
Carson was speaking to 20 first-year students gathered in 2007 to discuss Sister Helen Prejean’s book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.” Fellow student Katie Sue Zellner said she believes Carson’s zest for life would have dissuaded her from approval of executions.
The prosecutor has said that he is aware of the family’s wishes, but he did not share what other factors influenced his decision. Federal charges that could carry a death sentence are also being pursued against Demario Atwater, one of the two defendants in the murder. It has been almost 70 years since Orange County has issued a death sentence.
(E. Stephenson, “Parents told DA they’re anti-death penalty,” Daily Tar Heel, October 29, 2008; M. Baker, Associated Press, “Federal grand jury indicts 1 of 2 suspects in slaying of UNC student body president”, October 27, 2008). See Victims and Arbitrariness.
