NC defense lawyers cite race bias in Carson case

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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.