NC defense lawyers cite race bias in Carson case

RALEIGH, N.C. — Defense attorneys say racial bias is behind federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty for a man charged with killing University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that attorneys for 23-year-old Demario Atwater of Durham argue that he could face execution because he is black and Carson was white.

The defense lawyers said Atwater’s case is only the second in the central North Carolina federal court district which could have carried a death penalty. They said capital punishment wasn’t sought in the other case, involving a killing at Fort Bragg.

Jury selection for Atwater’s federal trial is to begin in two weeks. No date has been set for his state murder trial.

The Athens, Ga., woman was shot to death in March 2008.

Information from: The News & Observer

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