Man in a Red Jumpsuit – Shan Edward Carter: A case for repeal of the death penalty in North Carolina

Word count: 538

(LINK to flog follows the comments below.)

In light of the recent “stand your ground self defense” acquittal of self-appointed vigilante George Zimmerman of Sanford, Florida, the capital conviction of Wilmington, North Carolina’s Shan Edward Carter takes on added significance. During the months of January and February 1997, word on the streets of the coastal city was that drug dealer Tyrone Baker was looking for those responsible for stealing from his apartment $40,000 in cash of his ill gotten gains. He openly expressed his intentions of terminating those responsible.

Damont “Eli” White, one of the trio of burglars responsible for pilfering Baker’s stash, was kidnapped off the street in broad daylight by Baker and later pistol-whipped to gain information about the others involved. Shan Carter, a small-time burglar and drug dealer whose crimes were committed while unarmed, and Kwada Temoney, who had a violent criminal past that included an armed bank robbery in which he fired his weapon, were White’s other two accomplices in the Baker heist.

When Tyrone Baker finally caught up with Carter and Temoney on a street corner dealing drugs, he flattened Temoney with a sucker punch, and walked toward Carter with his gun-hand concealed by a heavy coat draped over it. In fear for his life, Carter fired his gun twice with the intention of wounding him… and as Baker turned and retreated, Carter fired three additional rounds to keep Baker motivated and occupied with escape. Not intentionally trying to strike the fleeing man, one of the bullets ricocheted off the steering wheel of a parked car striking an 8 year-old boy in the head (he later died). It was hours later before Carter even was aware that he had struck the boy with his gunfire.

The accidental death of the young boy and the self-defense death of the drug dealer Baker are convictions upon which Shan Carter received death sentences. The North Carolina prosecutors, from outspoken Hanover County Senator Thom Goolsby’s district, are trying to put to death the African American who is innocent of the commission of a capital crime.

The following flog (which was produced more than a year ago) contains the prologue to Shan Carter’s story which will be presented in subsequent chapters on this blog site.

I have been working Carter’s case for nearly three years, however, my advocacy on his behalf was interrupted to help assist Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser Crystal Mangum in the serious trumped up charges against her. As her case winds down toward its conclusion, I will be presenting more about Mr. Carter’s case.


NOTICE: I am considering discontinuing the flogazine format as its files are excessively large… as more articles are added. If there is a large outpouring of those in favor of it, let me know and give it additional thought. Also, since I have been working nonstop on Mangum’s case since 2011, I will take a brief respite for a couple of weeks before heading down the homestretch with her scheduled trial in mid-November 2013. I anticipate my next posting on this blog site to be the mid to late part of August 2013.

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