Carruth Gets at Least 18 Years in Prison
Jan. 22 -- A North Carolina judge today refused to set aside the unanimous verdicts in the Rae Carruth trial and sentenced the former NFL wide receiver to at least 18 years in prison for conspiracy to kill his pregnant girlfriend.
Superior Court Judge Charles Lamm sentenced Carruth today to a minimum of 18 years, 11 months in prison and a maximum of 24 years and four months. He will get credit for the roughly 14 months he spent behind bars awaitingtrial.
The defense will appeal.
Carruth was acquitted on Friday of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend, but the jury convicted him on three other charges: discharging a firearm into occupied property, using an instrument to destroy an unborn child and of conspiracy to slay 24-year-old Cherica Adams in November 1999. Carruth avoided the possibility of the death penalty with the acquittal on the murder charge.
Carruth's attorneys sought to vacate the convictions, arguing the jury surrendered their reasonable doubt in order to reach a unanimous verdict.
"In our view, a compromise verdict violates the defendant'sstate and federal due process rights," defense attorney David Rudolf told the judge. "If they have a reasonable doubt, they should not give that up simply to reach a verdict."
But Lamm ruled there was ample evidence to support the verdicts and denied the defense motion to set aside the convictions.
The jurors returned the unanimous verdicts one day after telling the judge they were split on all four charges and were "at an impasse." They were ordered back to the jury room to deliberate further and returned with the verdicts the following afternoon.
Parents Make Pleas
Cherica Adams' parents today told the judge their daughter was abused emotionally and mentally by Carruth and in her death, Jeff Moonie said Carruth committed "the ultimate selfish act."
Saundra Adams said her slain daughter's son, Chancellor Adams, who was delivered by emergency caesarean section the night of the shooting, has cerebral palsey and is developmentally disabled. "Chancellor at 14 months old is not even doing the things that some 4-month-olds do," she said. "Chancellor can't pick up a spoon. … He has trouble even holding a rattle in his hand."
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