Prosecutors seek death penalty for Carruth

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Prosecutors made it official Tuesday: They want the death penalty for Rae Carruth. With Carruth and his mother in court, the prosecution said special circumstances warrant the

Tuesday, February 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Prosecutors made it official Tuesday: They want the death penalty for Rae Carruth. With Carruth and his mother in court, the prosecution said special circumstances warrant the death penalty for the former Carolina Panthers player.

However, Assistant District Attorney Gentry Caudill would not say what those circumstances were. From the outset of the case, the prosecution has said it would seek the death penalty in the murder of Carruth's girlfriend. But the request was finally put before Judge Shirley Fulton on Tuesday.

Carruth did not speak during the brief hearing. His lawyer, David Rudolf, said Carruth is doing well, given the situation. "He has faith and he knows he's innocent," he said, joined by Carruth's mother. "And he has faith that the system will work."

Rudolf asked the judge to encourage prosecutors to begin turning over evidence, such as witness statements and telephone records. "We have not gotten anything, not a single piece of paper," he said outside the courthouse. "It's important that discovery rolls ahead so we can start working on the case."

Caudill said the district attorney's office will provide the material as quickly as possible. The judge scheduled a hearing for April 3 to review progress.

Carruth and three co-defendants are charged with first-degree murder in the drive-by shooting in November. Cherica Adams, 24, was shot four times in her car while driving on Nov. 16. Soon afterward, she gave birth to son Chancellor, 10 weeks premature. Adams died Dec. 14.

A similar hearing was held Tuesday for two of the other three defendants. Stanley Abraham, 19, and Michael Kennedy, 24, appeared briefly before the judge. The death penalty will be sought against them as well.

The hearing for the other defendant, Van Brett Watkins, will beheld later this month because one of his lawyers was involved in another murder case Tuesday. All four are being held in the county jail without bail.

Last week, Carruth reiterated that he did not kill Adams. He said he was on the phone and miles away from the murder scene. Prosecutors and another defendant have said Carruth was talking with one of three other murder suspects from his nearby car when Adams was shot.

Kennedy lawyer James Exum says his client maintains Carruth was talking by cell phone with one of the murder suspects at the time of the shooting. Carruth's telephone records show his phone was used to call Atlanta at 12:27 a.m. Nov. 16. The phone call lasted 16 minutes, until 12:43 a.m. Police have said Adams was killed between 12:34a.m. and 12:36 a.m. Her 911 call to police was made at 12:36 a.m.

Rudolf wants to disqualify Exum from representing Kennedy. He contends Exum waived attorney-client privilege by telling reporters about confidential communications he had with Kennedy. That makes Exum a potential witness, Rudolf said. Rudolf wants to address this matter at the April 3 hearing.