NC death row inmate to serve life in prison, court rules

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — North Carolina’s Supreme Court will let a death row inmate serve out a lifetime prison sentence he was previously granted.

The narrow 4-3 ruling may also allow three other inmates facing the death penalty to get similar relief under the now-defunct Racial Justice Act.

In June, the court allowed most death row inmates in North Carolina to use the law to seek life sentences instead, even though the act was amended and later repealed in 2013.

Marcus Robinson will serve a lifetime prison sentence. The Supreme Court’s decisions are forthcoming in the cases involving Quintel Augustine, Christina Walters and Tilmon Golphin.