Death sentences rare in county

Orange County’s historical reluctance to issue capital sentences could come into play down the road for one of the men charged with Eve Carson’s murder.

Demario James Atwater, 21, will appear in court today for a probable cause hearing for first-degree murder. At that hearing, prosecutors will present evidence to the public to back up that charge for the first time.

If he is charged with first-degree murder, the jury could sentence him to capital punishment or a life sentence in prison without parole.

Orange County jurors have consistently shown a disinclination to issue capital sentences. The last time was in 1970 and it was overturned on appeal, said Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, a former Orange County district attorney.

An Orange County jury last issued a death sentence that was carried out in 1948.

“There’s little question in my mind that Orange County, as well as Chatham, probably would be one of the most challenging districts in North Carolina to have a death sentence returned by the jury,” said District Attorney Jim Woodall in reference to local legal tradition.

“It tends to be a fairly liberal area, so our jury pool tends to be very liberal. Generally speaking, that makes it a bit more difficult to get the death penalty,” he said.

Death penalty verdicts have decreased since 2001, when state legislation began allowing prosecutors in first-degree murder cases to seek life sentences without parole as an alternative to a capital sentence, Fox said.

Before that legislation, prosecutors had to seek the death penalty if they wanted to try the case as first-degree murder. To seek an alternative sentence, the case had to be reduced to second-degree murder, he said.

“You just don’t see jurors giving the death penalty as much as they used to since the advent of legislation allowing life without parole,” Fox said.

Carson’s murder bears some similarities to the 1993 murder of Kristin Lodge-Miller, a 26-year-old Chapel Hill speech therapist, who was shot on Estes Drive after being attacked during her early morning jog.

Prosecutors chose to pursue a second-degree murder charge against 18-year-old Anthony Georg Simpson, accused in that case, rather than pushing first-degree murder charges. That case was brought to trial before legislation permitting alternative sentences to the death penalty in first-degree murder cases.

Orange County’s liberal reputation does not mean it is alone in edging away from capital punishment, said Tom Maher, director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation.

“We tend to think of Orange County as this liberal oasis. It’s not out of step with a lot of counties,” he said, explaining that more than one-third of North Carolina counties have no one on death row.

Maher said that the strong emotional reaction to Carson’s murder means that the case needs to be handled carefully and that time needs to pass before punishment for the suspects can be fairly discussed.

“It’s really way too early, given that, to be talking intelligently about what the appropriate punishment is,” he said.

History of
capital punishment in Orange County and North Carolina:

1948: Last time a capital sentence issued by an Orange County jury was carried out.

1977: Death penalty restored for first-degree murder cases in North Carolina.

1970: Last time an Orange County jury issued a capital
sentence; the sentence was
overturned on appeal.

2001: N.C. legislation passed that allows prosecutors to pursue first-degree murder charges without having to seek the death penalty; the other option is life without parole.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.