October 28, 2008
You Heard It Here
As expected federal authorities have begun their end run around Orange County values by charging one of the suspects in the Eve Carson case with capital crimes. This in spite of the fact that there are two suspects in the murder, which occurred in Chapel Hill, and that there is no reason for federal charges, other than trying to ensure that someone else dies in this case. A spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s office says Demario Atwater is being charged because he violated federal law. Of course, if he did so did his accomplice, Lawrence Lovette. He’s a minor and cannot receive the death penalty in either court. If you’re not convinced by my fine legal mind, let an expert spell it out:
[F]ederal involvement in a case that the state is actively prosecuting is unusual, especially for street crime, said Rich Rosen, a UNC law professor who serves on the board of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation.
‘I don’t understand why the federal district attorneys would choose this case to prosecute,’ Rosen said. ‘Homicide is traditionally a state crime, punishable by the state.’ …
‘If it’s a federal crime for Atwater, it’s a federal crime for Lovette,’ Rosen said. ‘It doesn’t make sense why they would indict one and not the other.’”
Not only is this a crass effort to work around a community that hasn’t given anyone the death penalty in 35 years, it’s also a dishonor to the victim. Eve Carson did not support the death penalty, neither do her parents, even in the face of the unimaginable loss they’ve suffered. Will the federal government reward their valiance with cheap revenge? Wait and see.
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1 Comment Add yours »
This is why there should be less reliance on creating new laws at the federal level. If you want the federal government to be the watchdog for everything, well, they’re going to try to be the watchdog. The only way to maintain “Orange County values” in legal cases is to ask for the repeal of most federal laws pertaining to things that might happen in Orange County.