| | CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As authorities waited Thursday for the
return of Rae Carruth, there was talk of the death penalty and
possible deals with other defendants in the case of the slaying of
the former NFL star's girlfriend.
Prosecutors' intention to seek the death penalty was the most
significant of several developments Thursday at the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County courthouse, more than 500 miles from
the western Tennessee community where Carruth was captured on
Wednesday.
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| Carruth |
One of Carruth's three fellow defendants expressed remorse for
the Nov. 16 shooting of Cherica Adams, and lawyers for the other
two defendants said their clients might try to cut deals with
prosecutors.
And early Thursday afternoon, Carruth, 25, was waived by the
Carolina Panthers, severing his ties to the team that made the wide
receiver a first-round selection in the 1997 NFL draft. Carruth was also suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
The Panthers said the decision to release Carruth, who was in
the third year of a four-year, $3.7 million contract, was directly
related to him fleeing from Charlotte after Adams died Tuesday.
Carruth at the time was free on a $3 million bond, the terms of
which required him to surrender immediately if Adams died.
"Obviously this has to do with what has taken place in the last
48 hours," coach George Seifert said. "We are not trying to
demonstrate guilt or innocence or anything else. It is just our
reaction to what has taken place."
Later Thursday afternoon, Carruth told authorities he would not
fight extradition to North Carolina. At almost the same time
Carruth was announcing his decision in a Jackson, Tenn., courtroom,
prosecutors in Charlotte gave the first indication that they plan
to treat the slaying as a capital offense.
The scene was a bond hearing for Stanley D. "Boss" Abraham
Jr., who at 19 is the youngest of the four defendants.
Abraham's parents and about a dozen members of Temple Baptist
Church were at the hearing to vouch for what they said was the
strong character of the defendant. When the handcuffed and shackled
Abraham saw his supporters in the courtroom, he lowered his head
onto the defense table and began sobbing.
That's when assistant district attorney Gentry Caudill told
Superior Court Judge Robert Johnston that, now that the victim has
died, the state plans to rework the charges and seek to invoke Rule
24, which in North Carolina legal parlance means the death penalty.
"We anticipate that aggravated circumstances would exist,"
Caudill told the judge, "and that we will file for Rule 24 at a
later date."
Caudill said that because of Adams' death, authorities are
likely to drop charges of attempted murder and assault with a
deadly weapon with intent to inflict serious injury. That would
leave all four defendants facing charges of first-degree murder,
conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and shooting into an
occupied vehicle. Carruth also faces a federal charge of unlawful
flight to avoid prosecution.
Norman Butler, one of Abraham's lawyers, said that because his
client had willingly spoken to authorities and planned to continue
doing so, he was hopeful it might lead to a plea bargain.
"Our client has been cooperative the entire time," Butler
said. "We hopefully in the future will have some discussions with
the state."
Johnston and another judge refused to set bond for Abraham and
the other two defendants, Michael E. Kennedy, 24, and William E.
Watkins, 44.
Watkins has been described by lawyers in the case as the person
who allegedly fired the shots that struck Adams in the neck and
chest. Her baby boy, 10 weeks short of full term, was delivered in
an emergency procedure shortly after the shooting and has been
upgraded to fair condition.
Watkins didn't speak during a brief hearing Thursday morning
before District Court Judge Phil Howerton, but asked to address the
judge when it ended.
"Your honor, I want to tell the court how sorry I am for the
death of Cherica Adams and the baby she brought into this world,"
Watkins said before the judge thanked him and deputies took him
back to his cell.
Outside the courthouse, James Exum, one of Kennedy's lawyers,
said his client would not rule out cooperating with prosecutors in
exchange for leniency.
"That would be a consideration in any case, and certainly in
this case," Exum said. | |
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