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.

Click on panel below to access flog.

Click on panel below to access Punish-O-meter

Judge Gessner takes charge by tossing out charge

In an Anne Blythe article in Friday’s July 8, 2011 The News & Observer titled “Judge throws out murder charge,” Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner dismissed murder charges against 31 year-old Mario Antonio Smith. Prosecutors accused Smith of killing Dwight Lee Dean at a night club after a disturbance there. According to prosecutors, their witnesses gave statements after the incident that significantly differed from testimony given on the witness stand in court. (This is similar to a case involving the conviction of Shan Carter, which I will be highlighting in the future.) Furthermore, the prosecution’s one witness who linked Smith to the crime, described a perpetrator -who did not match the defendant in stature or hair style. (Not unlike the Erick Daniels case.)

Since the incident took place in July 2010, it is reasonable to assume that Mr. Smith was incarcerated for a year prior to his weak case being dismissed by Judge Gessner. The fact that the prosecution even brought such a merit-less case to trial was not surprising to defense attorney Jeff Cutler. Cutler stated about prosecutors, “That’s what they do. They don’t want to take heat for not trying the case. They’d rather let a judge or jury make the decision. I’m not surprised the judge dismissed it.” The prosecutor lacked credible evidence! Without forensics tying Mario Antonio Smith to the crime or a consistent and credible eyewitness, prosecutors plodded forward in preparing a flawed and flimsy case while the defendant cooled his heels in the cooler. (Similar to the Carletta Alston case, Smith essentially served a year sentence on a charge so weak that a judge threw it out before it could be brought before a jury… in Alston’s case the prosecutor avoided that humiliation by dropping charges against her himself.)

In their zeal, the Wake County prosecutors also charged Gregory Mecos Lee Watkins with accessory after the fact because he allegedly drove Smith from the nightclub stabbing scene. The article made no mention of whether or not he endured a lengthy pre-trial incarceration, or was released on bond. Regardless, due to actions from the bench on Smith’s case, the “accessory” charge against Watkins was dropped, as well.

I applaud Judge Gessner for his actions in this case, as it supports justice that is much too often denied the poor, disenfranchised, and people of color. Because prosecutors in the Tar Heel state have a propensity to charge people from the disadvantaged and “not-so-privileged” classes with crimes despite the paucity of evidence against them, they can usually count on a jury, with a mindset to please the prosecution, to deliver a verdict against the defendant. It happens time and time again, when defendants are convicted without a shred of credible evidence. Most of the time these cases pass public attention because the media does not cover them… it is only when the advantaged and privileged are snagged in the cogs of the criminal justice system that the media-types jump on criminal cases.

Unfortunately, it is only in high profile cases involving defendants from the upper echelons of society that jurors take their oaths seriously. In the Jason Young case, for example, the jurors fought to a standoff in a murder trial that was declared a mistrial after several days of deliberation. Holdouts against conviction in that group of twelve, did not feel that the prosecution presented a case without reasonable doubt. In most trials, however, with defendants lacking status or media appeal, jurors tend to reach verdicts not by analyzing the facts, evidence, and presentations of the barristers but instead rely on their visceral emotions… ready to convict when a crime victim is young and innocent or to assuage the grief of victims’ friends and relatives.

Jurors in the Erick Daniels case were not presented with a compelling case for his guilt, yet those dozen who sat in judgment reached a unanimous decision against him. The same can be said for the jurors in the Gregory Taylor case. Indifferent juries are responsible for many innocent people being convicted and given lengthy sentences in this state… the majority of wrongly incarcerated being the poor, disenfranchised, and people of color.

The second to the last paragraph in the article revealed the identity of Smith’s prosecutor as being Melanie Shekita… only to say that efforts to reach her were unsuccessful. I am glad to see the staff of the newspaper taking baby steps away from its ensconced PAPEN (Protect All Prosecutors Except Nifong) policy. Although prosecutors may feel pressure to convict someone of an especially heinous crime such as murder, it behooves them to take pains to see that their priority is to convict the guilty party. All too often they bring charges and prosecute knowing that the defendant is innocent (such as the Gregory Taylor case and the Erick Daniels case).

Until North Carolina prosecutors become true “Ministers of Justice,” prosecuting only those cases which have merit, it is incumbent upon judges to assure that the rights and liberty of the innocents are protected by dismissing those cases brought by prosecutors in which there is not enough evidence to convict… as did Judge Paul Gessner in the Mario Antonio Smith case. Unfortunately juries cannot be relied upon to use sound reasoning and impartial objectivity instead of sympathy and raw emotions in reaching a fair verdict… especially when it comes to the lives and futures of defendants who are poor, disenfranchised, and people of color.

I believe I speak on behalf of all Tar Heelians when I state that we are all in Judge Paul Gessner’s debt.

The judge’s hand in the capital convictions of Shan Carter

The Donald Brunson kidnap/murder.
On December 6, 1996, at approximately 3:00 am, a home invasion took place at the Wilmington, NC house that 27 year-old Donald Brunson shared with his girlfriend Ana Santiago and her children. According to initial reports by Ms. Santiago, three masked invaders beat and kidnapped Brunson in an attempt to find his stash of drug and gambling money. Brunson’s beaten body with a fatal bullet wound was later found near Santiago’s car which was used in the kidnapping. The car contained two masks and a toboggan cap which were used to shield the identities of the intruders. DNA evidence from these articles linked Kwada Temoney to the crime, but excluded Shan Carter. Mr. Carter has always maintained his innocence in this crime, stating that he was at home with his wife during the early morning hours when the crime was committed.

The deaths of Tyrone Baker/Demetrius Green.
In November 1996, the month prior to Brunson’s death, Shan Carter, along with Kwada Temoney and Damont White, burglarized the apartment of Tyrone Baker, a drug-dealer from New York. They had taken a coat, boots, and a few other items before coming across a cache of $40,000 which they evenly split. Baker had taken White into his confidence somewhat, and suspected he (White) had a part in the theft. Baker kidnapped White in broad daylight, held him for approximately six hours and pistol whipped him to get information about the burglary. Word was soon on the street that Baker intended to kill those who stole his money, and according to his reputation, Baker was one to follow through on his threats. On February 16, 1997, a couple of months after the burglary of Baker, Shan Carter parked his car on the corner of Ten and Dawson Street. Kwada Temoney was his passenger, and they exited the car with Carter heading for the corner store. In the periphery of his vision, he saw Temoney being forcefully sucker punched in the face by Tyrone Baker. (Temoney later told Carter that the blow knocked him unconscious.) Baker with a heavy field Army draped over his arm, concealing his hand and a possible weapon, menacingly advanced toward Carter at which time Carter withdrew his .357 magnum from his shoulder holster and fired low at Baker, with the intent of wounding, not killing him. The first bullet struck Baker in the thigh, but the recoil of the powerful weapon which was held in one hand forced the barrel of the gun higher… and when he squeezed off the second shot it caught Baker below the left rib cage as he had turned to his right in order to flee. As Baker ran from Carter, Carter followed at an angle in order to prevent Baker from using the corner of the building as a shield from which to return fire. As Baker ran across Tenth Street, Carter fired approximately three more rounds as motivation to keep Baker on the defensive. It was during this series that a bullet unintentionally struck 8 year-old Demetrius Green in the head killing him. As Baker collapsed Carter returned to his car, along with Temoney who had regained consciousness, and they left the scene. Before police arrived at the crime scene, Renee Barnes, a woman who sold drugs for Baker, went to his side and took his coat, and whatever it possibly concealed, along with his car keys. She then drove Baker’s car to his girlfriend’s house. The coat eventually ended up in New York. It was later that day that Carter learned that Baker had died from his wounds and surprisingly and remorsefully that an innocent bystander (Demetrius Green) had been killed.

February 18, 1997, two days after the Tenth and Dawson Street shooting, Carter and Temoney were arrested when leaving a Wilmington motel. They have both been in custody since that day. Temoney later entered a plea deal, confessing to killing Donald Brunson and implicating Carter as an accomplice in that crime. He did so in order to escape a possible death sentence. What subsequently happened to Carter is a total miscarriage of justice… sentenced to two death penalties and serving a life sentence.

The state of North Carolina, in securing death penalty convictions, was successful in its objective of seeking to put Shan Carter to death even though he did not commit a capital crime. Whether the state’s motive was due to one victim of the violence being an 8-year old boy, or if the defendant’s class and color was sufficient, is anyone’s guess. But the state is proceeding with its efforts to put to death a man who they very well know is not deserving of it. The judges, prosecutors, and the media-types are not dumb, but they believe the public in general is, and that is why they feel they can get away with it. Below I will set forth the scheme which I strongly believe led to the unjust capital convictions against Shan Carter.

That Shan Carter was responsible for the February 16, 1997 deaths of Tyrone Baker and Demetrius Green is not in dispute. Carter’s contention was that he shot Baker in self-defense, and he directed his gunfire with the intent to wound and not kill Baker. The tragic and unfortunate death of the 8 year-old boy was a horrific accident that Carter was not aware of until hours later when the story was carried on the news. The state’s prosecutors, however, argued to the jury that Carter’s actions in killing Tyrone Baker were deliberate and premeditated. And, using a little known and arbitrarily utilized legal statute, extended the capital charge in Baker’s case to apply to that in the case involving the boy’s death.

In order to turn the obvious self-defense death of Baker into one worthy of the consideration of capital punishment, the prosecution had to paint Carter into the monster that he was not. Up to this point, Shan Carter did sell crack cocaine, and he did burglarize residences thought to be unoccupied. He used his gun only for self-defense and never in the commission of a crime. Carter never robbed a bank, or an individual at gunpoint. He fired his weapon only on two occasions… both times in self-defense. The first time was on February 5, 1997 when another burglary victim of Carter’s, Keith Richardson confronted Carter and drew a pistol on Carter first (this has been documented by an affidavit by Julius Jones). The other time Carter fired his gun was on February 16, 1997 at Tenth and Dawson when he was threatened by Tyrone Baker, as described previously. A small-time petty thief, burglar, and drug dealer, yes… but Shan Carter was no cold-hearted trigger happy killer, as the prosecutors made him at to be in his trials in 2000 and 2001.

Kwada Temoney, on the other hand, more aptly fit the role of a criminal monster. He did use a gun to rob banks and individuals. Temoney had no compunction about shooting at the unarmed who posed him no threat. He shot Louis Tyson, a robbery victim in both legs, and allegedly fired shots at customers during a bank robbery. And it is Temoney who was tied to the murder/kidnapping of Donald Brunson. Carter will be the first to admit that he was involved with the monster Temoney in a couple of burglaries, but that is about it. And Carter had absolutely no prior knowledge or involvement in the crimes against Donald Brunson on December 6, 1996.

New Hanover prosecutors invested their efforts up until October 1998 trying to forensically link Shan Carter to the Brunson kidnap/murder, for they knew that if they were to prevail with serious charges against Carter in the Baker/Green deaths that they would need him convicted on more serious charges beforehand. The police and prosecutors then began using unethical and illegal practices to obtain hearsay testimony for which to charge and later try Carter for Brunson’s death.

Prosecutors wanted to convict Carter in the Brunson murder case before putting him on trial for the deaths of Baker and Green… charges which were in place long before prosecutors brought charges of murder against Carter for the Brunson murder. Therefore, prosecutors had to fast-track the Brunson case against Carter so that it’s probable guilty verdict could be used to elicit a serious conviction against him in the Baker/Green cases.

Part Two will be added to this blog tomorrow.

2010 year end reflections and season’s greetings

2010 was a mixed bag, with anti-Nifong fervor as strong as ever, thanks in large measure to the biased media which cherry picks stories in determining which ones to report on based in large measure on how they adhere to the Carpetbagger Jihad agenda. For example, it jumped on the story about Crystal Mangum (the Duke Lacrosse victim) when she was battered in mid-February by an ex-boyfriend. After police conspired to turn the domestic call into the criminalizing of Ms. Mangum with ludicrous, trumped up and excessive charges, the media saturated the airwaves and newsprint with stories about her arrest. When it became apparent to the media (people in the media are very intelligent) that the charges against Ms. Mangum were bogus and nothing more than a vendetta against her for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case, the coverage output was lowered to a whisper, as media-types were too embarrassed to continue with the charade. When the jury deadlocked on the most serious charge against Mangum in early December, media-types barely touched on the story.

Media stories about Ms. Mangum’s so-called criminal charges were heavily weighted with rehash of the Duke Lacrosse case. Typically, Ms. Mangum was referred to as the “false Duke Lacrosse accuser” and almost all stories misled their audience by proclaiming that the boys were declared innocent. It was a pitiful example of journalism that not only tainted Ms. Mangum’s ability to receive a fair trial, but which was highly propagandistic.

Another abominable anti-Nifong story from the year has to do with the blatant, malicious, and premeditated discrimination against Sidney Harr, the Lay Advocate for the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong. Harr was nearly arrested on the Duke campus after attending an event open to the public… an interview with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. What was obviously discrimination based on Harr’s stance with respect to the Duke Lacrosse case and his support for former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, the university came up with a cockamamie excuse that security escorted him off campus because he handed out some business cards and asked people to visit his website. This incident was brought to the attention of the media, but they elected not to cover it as it contradicted their jihadist’s goals.

Media-types and politicians eagerly jumped into the fray when a lesbian was booted from the ROTC program for violating the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military, and when two lesbians were asked to leave Cameron Village mall because they had publicly expressed some affection. The latter case got national media attention and even the ACLU got involved. It seems, and is unfortunately a reality, that discrimination directed at Mike Nifong supporters is legally acceptable and condoned by the media.

In other social justice issues, the wrongful and lengthy incarcerations of Gregory Flint Taylor and Derrick Allen came to light. Their convictions were in part won through SBI lab misconduct, of which their prosecutors were well aware and in which they possibly had a hand. Although the SBI lab and SBI agents have taken the brunt of the media focused attention, the prosecutors have been given a free pass, in accordance with the PAPEN (Protect All Prosecutors Except Nifong) policy. And, the one prosecutor, Gregory Butler, who acted with the integrity of a Mike Nifong, was taken before the North Carolina State Bar. This was a deliberate waste of time, as the unregulated State Bar filed bogus charges against Butler due to media stories critical of him. Butler provided defense with discovery as soon as he became aware that attorneys for the defendant did not possess it, and it was nonsensical of the Bar to pounce on him for that, especially when it had no outcome on the fairness of the proceedings or the judgment meted out. Like Nifong, the Bar’s charges against Butler were laughably without merit, but unlike Nifong, Butler received no disciplinary action from the Bar whereas Nifong received the severest punishment at their disposal…disbarment. Another year in the books, and Mike Nifong remains the only prosecutor to be disbarred since the NC State Bar’s inception.

Finally, an attempt by the state to execute an innocent man was recently revealed. Wilmington’s Shan Edward Carter was wrongfully convicted in 2000 for in the 1996 kidnapping and murder of drug-dealer Donald Brunson. Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, Carter received a life sentence in that case. Prosecutors used this false conviction (which relied on hearsay testimony from unreliable witnesses and which was totally lacking in physical evidence, DNA, eyewitnesses, etc.) to win two death penalty convictions in the self-defense death of drug-dealer Tyrone Baker and the accidental death of Demetrius Green, an 8 year-old boy tragically caught in the line of fire. The cases against Carter are fraught with inappropriate actions and misconduct on the part of the prosecution, SBI lab, judges, investigators, and even Carter’s own defense and appeals lawyers.

Because the media, like the state’s justice system, follows its own tenet of reporting based on Class and Color, it is questionable whether this case will garner the attention in the mainstream media which it deserves. But these cases, along with documents supporting the contention that Shan Carter had nothing to do with the Brunson murder, and that the sentences reached in the Baker/Green case are unfair, will be put before the public in this venue during 2011 and the upcoming years until Carter receives justice.

Finally, I would like to thank all commenters throughout 2010 for taking the time to get involved and voicing their opinions. Because of your involvement I have learned a lot, and I hope that you have benefited by the process also. In appreciation to the commenters I will be paying homage to them in Episode V of “The MisAdventures of Super-Duper Cooper.” More is to come on that later.

For all readers, my fondest wishes for the holidays, a following link will take you to my e-Christmas card. (Unfortunately, I did not know how to control the audio, so before linking up to it, set the volume low and adjust upward.) Enjoy.

LINK: http://justice4nifong.com/direc/xCardBtn.htm

In depth corrections about errors in previous blog posted on December 15, 2010

Unlike MSNBC, Duke University, and most media types, when I err, I move quickly to apply principles of “restorative justice” in response… which means accepting responsibility, apologizing, correcting the mistake and doing whatever possible to see that it doesn’t recur.

Regarding the previous blog, on February 10, 1997, Keith Richardson picked Shan Carter out of a photo lineup, and not a physical lineup as I had assumed. The police were aware at that time that Shan Carter had been arrested for breaking and entering Richardson’s residence earlier that month, and that Richardson carried around a photo of Carter and was seeking information about him. Police most likely and sensibly concluded that Richardson was the aggressor in the February 5, 1997 incident, as no charges were brought against Carter for that shooting.

Just to clarify, it was Louis Tyson and not Shan Carter who suspected that Kwada Temoney and Julius Jones had broken into Tyson’s home and wounded him in the leg with a gun.

Finally, and most importantly, Attorney Richard G. Miller, who was the capital defender for Shan Carter in the Brunson murder trial, was not asked by Shan to obtain, copy or secure records of pay phones which Demetria Green used prior to leading Lakeisha Carter to an interview with detectives. Carter first learned at trial about use of the pay phone by Demetria while on the way with Lakeisha's grandfather to meet with authorities for the interview with Lakeisha. Attorney Miller never even brought up the possibility of the significance of the use of the pay phone as being a vital link to establish the collaboration between the detectives, prosecution and FBI agent and Demetria Green, who was obviously charged with the task of bringing Lakeisha Carter into town for the videotaped interview. Carter began to seek records of the pay phones in 2000 from his appeals attorney Edwin L. West III, who made no attempt to retrieve them, despite their importance. Carter's subsequent attorney Sharon Smith, hired in 2003, investigated the pay phone records in 2008 (at which time she was told that they had been destroyed.)

With the above errors explained in full, I suggest you re-read the blog posted previously (on December 15, 2010) to get a fuller and more accurate understanding of this case… with all of its twists and turns.

Shaky witnesses with hearsay evidence, witness intimidation, and suppression of exculpatory evidence used to win murder conviction against Shan Carter

Notice of errors: Please be aware of the errors in the blog which follows. Shan Carter notified me of the mistakes just hours ago. I accept responsibility for them, apologize for them, will post another blog to address the errors in depth, and will take measures to try and prevent mistakes in the future. Specifically the mistakes are as follows:
1) on February 10, 1997, Keith Richardson picked Shan Carter out of a photo lineup as the person who had shot him – however, Carter was neither charged or arrested for that incident;
2) Louis Tyson, not Shan Carter, named Kwada Temoney and Julius Jones as the two masked suspects who he believed had robbed him and shot him in the leg; and
3) Carter never asked his attorney Richard G. Miller to obtain copies of pay phone records.
posted - December 17, 2010

The December 6, 1996 kidnap and murder of drug-dealer Donald Brunson in Wilmington, NC was committed by Kwada Temoney and two accomplices. However the wheels of justice falsely ensnared a man innocent of any involvement in that crime… Shan Edward Carter. Although no forensic or physical evidence existed and there were no eyewitnesses tying Carter to the crime, he was nonetheless convicted of participating in Brunson’s murder as prosecutors sought the death penalty. In fact, evidence consisting of hair fibers and saliva on two masks and a toboggan cap, were exculpatory with respect to Carter. Yet, the state of North Carolina fought mightily to win a conviction and a life sentence (prosecutors had sought a death penalty). Jurors felt that if the one man linked to the crime (Temoney) was given a plea deal which spared his life in exchange for a life sentence, then it would be unfair for others involved in Brunson’s murder to be given the death sentence… hence, Carter’s life sentence.

Prosecutor John Sherrill, who led the state’s prosecution against Carter, had invaluable help from the judge on the case, the SBI lab (of course), and even Carter’s defense attorney Richard G. Miller, in his successful bid to win a conviction. In addition to witness intimidation by the prosecutor, the existence of vital evidence (involving pay phone records) which was made known by the defendant Carter was ignored by all, including Carter’s attorneys, until it was allegedly destroyed many years later.

In an affidavit of January 18, 2005, Attorney Sharon L. Smith makes the claim that Shan Carter’s claim of innocence is credible (just as this blog has maintained). Specifically, her statements include the following: “I find Shan’s claims of innocence to be credible, in part because t here is no physical, eyewitness or DNA evidence linking him to the crimes. In addition, the prosecution’s evidence at trial was inconsistent with eyewitness statements given immediately after the crimes and with the time frame in which the crimes occurred. Because of the lack of any direct evidence, Shan’s convictions in the Brunson case were procured by the use of hearsay evidence that is inadmissible under the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).” (Link below will lead to Sharon Smith’s affidavit.)

According to Donald Brunson’s girlfriend, Ana Santiago, the home invasion occurred early in the morning of December 6, 1996 in the following manner. Brunson and Ms. Santiago were in bed when the door to their apartment and bedroom were kicked in. Three armed and masked men entered, tied her up and severely beat Brunson in an attempt to procure the location of his stash of money. Then using Santiago’s car, Brunson was taken and deposited in the trunk and was driven to a desolate location, accompanied by another vehicle of the assailants. It is believed that Brunson was fatally shot a short distance from Santiago’s car and that an attempt was made by the perpetrators to burn the stolen vehicle used to kidnap Brunson in a bid to destroy evidence. The two ski masks and a toboggan cap used to conceal the identities of the three men were placed in the car, but remained intact when the vehicle failed to be consumed in flames. SBI and FBI labs later analyzed hair fibers and saliva found on the masks to compare with suspects in the case.

In less than a month after Brunson’s death, on January 1, 1997, Shan Carter and Kwada Temoney attempted to burglarize the residence of drug-dealer Keith Richardson. A silent alarm triggered a police response that led to the capture of Carter, and eventually Temoney. Shortly thereafter, Shan bonded out from jail. On February 5, 1997, Richardson, who had been showing Carter’s mug-shot and asking questions about him, came across Carter who was walking with Julius Jones to visit Temoney. After confronting them and establishing the true identity of Carter, Richardson took from his back pocket a gun (believed by Carter to be a .22 or .25 caliber gun). Shan Carter withdrew from his shoulder holster a .357 magnum gun and started firing at Richardson. One bullet struck Richardson in the forearm as he took flight and ran. Carter briskly walked away in the opposite direction. (Link below will also lead to Julius Jones’s 2005 affidavit in which he stated that he saw the gun drawn by Richardson on February 5, 1997, and that Shan acted in self-defense against the aggressor Richardson. Jones was never called to the stand to refute Richardson’s claim that he was unarmed in the altercation.)

Shan Carter was later arrested, and on February 10, 1997, was picked out of a lineup by Richardson as the man who had shot him. Again, Carter obtained bond and was temporarily free on the streets of Wilmington.

Since November 1996, in the month prior to the Brunson murder, Tyrone Baker, a drug-dealer from New York, had made public threats of his intention of killing those responsible for the theft of $40,000 in cash from his apartment, along with a few other personal items. The three he believed responsible, and rightfully so, were Damont White, Kwada Temoney, and Shan Carter. On or about February 16, 1997, Baker found Temoney and Carter on the corner of Tenth and Dawson. Without warning, Baker punched Temoney in the face, and according to Temoney, knocking him out cold. Baker then menacingly approached Carter with a heavy army field coat draped over his arm and hand, which Carter believed concealed a firearm. Carter took out his .357 magnum in one hand and fired low at Baker in an attempt to wound him. The first bullet struck Baker in the front of his thigh, and the recoil of the gun brought the barrel higher as he squeezed off the second shot which struck Baker in the left side below his ribcage as he turned to his right to flee. To prevent Baker from using the corner of the store as cover from which to possibly return fire, Carter followed Baker to the corner. He fired three more shots from his revolver in Baker’s direction to entice him to keep running and allow Carter to get to his car parked near the corner so he could drive away. Tragically, one of the bullets struck an 8 year-old boy, Demetrius Green, in the head as he sat in a parked car and he died. (Carter never saw the boy, and only learned hours later that Baker and Demetrius Green had both died.) When Carter reached his car, Temoney had recovered and got in the car, and they drove away. Renee Barnes, an acquaintance and dealer for Baker, witnessed the event and ran to Baker’s side. She took Baker’s army field coat, and probably a weapon hidden beneath it, along with his car keys, and left the crime scene before police arrived. (Ms. Barnes drove to Baker’s girlfriend’s house in Baker’s car. The coat eventually ended up in New York, and was sent to Wilmington authorities in 1998, still containing some dried blood.)

On February 18, 1997, Kwada Temoney and Julius Jones wearing masks, broke into Louis Tyson’s home seeking money. Temoney shot Tyson in the legs during the home invasion, with some of Tyson’s blood getting on Temoney’s navy blue coat. Afterwards, Temoney went to the motel where Carter was staying. Authorities had closed in on the motel when a taxi cab arrived for Carter and Temoney. Carter, wearing his black coat with orange lining, grabbed Temoney’s blue coat to facilitate their egress from the hotel, as Temoney exited without wearing a coat. The police then surrounded the two and made their arrest.

Although Shan had no involvement with the home invasion of Lou Tyson which had taken place earlier, prosecutors and police tried to link the blood-stained navy blue coat as belonging to Carter. Eventually, no charges were taken out against Carter for the armed robbery/home invasion of Louis Tyson.

After Carter’s arrest in February 18, 1997, Carter remained in custody. Over the ensuing two and a half year period police tried to link Carter to the Brunson murder through forensics tests. Meanwhile, Carter relationship with his wife, Lakeisha had been strained to the point that by the beginning of 1998, they were no longer communicating. Lakeisha had mental health issues, including involuntary commitment, and she had some justifiable hostility towards Carter for his womanizing ways prior to his most recent incarceration.

By October 1999, authorities had exhausted all forensic avenues and were unsuccessful in their attempts to link Carter to the Donald Brunson kidnapping and murder, however charges still loomed for Carter with respect to the deaths of Tyrone Baker and 8 year-old Demetrius Green. There is no doubt in my mind that prosecutors wanted a conviction against Carter in the Brunson case to take into trial against Carter in the deaths of Baker and Green. To proceed against Carter in the Baker/Green cases without a prior serious conviction would make prevailing in what was obviously a self-defense and accidental shooting situation all the more daunting. So, as Assistant District Attorney John Sherrill told the staff writer Amy E. Turnbull of the Wilmington Morning Star, they “made a case (against Shan Carter in the Brunson murder) that did not exist.” Making a case against Carter was achieved basically through conjured up hearsay testimony from witnesses who were unreliable, intimidated, and coaxed with financial gain. It was achieved by suppressing evidence which would expose the conspiracy against Carter. And, it was achieved with the help of judges, the SBI lab, and Carter’s own attorney Richard G. Miller and Carter’s appeals attorney Edwin L. West III.

The campaign against Carter in the Brunson murder began in earnest in October 1999, and at trial two years later consisted mainly of hearsay testimony by Shonte Bowen and Lakeisha Carter, Shan’s estranged wife. Shonte’s testimony was used to try and tie Carter in the presence of Kwada Temoney at the time of the home invasion where Brunson was residing with his girlfriend. Shonte Bowen was a drug user and drug-dealer whose testimony about the Brunson murder was known by the New Hanover Sheriff’s Department to be suspect. A polygraph test re: the Brunson crime was given to Nakiha “Shonte” Bowen on April 28, 1998. The test was conducted to determine if Ms. Bowen was being truthful regarding information she had provided about the Donald Brunson homicide investigation. The conclusion was “Deception Indicated.” A follow-up polygraph exam was performed on Ms. Bowen the following day, April 29, 1998, with the same focus. The same conclusion, “Deception Indicated,” was reached. (The link situated below will lead to the polygraph test results of April 28 and 29, 1998.)

Shonte Bowen received money from the North Carolina Banker’s Association as a result of her knowledge about a bank robbery, and was granted money for information about other crimes. (Link below will lead to a transaction in which she received payment for information given about a bank robbery.)

The other person whose statements were instrumental in Shan Carter’s conviction in the Donald Brunson murder was Shan’s estranged wife, Lakeisha Carter. In order to obtain statements from Lakeisha, authorities went through Demetria Green, a close relative of 8 year-old Demetrius Green, the boy accidentally shot by Carter in his defensive actions against Tyrone Baker. Demetria had no affection for Lakeisha as the two had a past history in which they both dated the same boy. She certainly despised Carter for his role in Demetrius Green’s death.

On October 11, 1999, Detective Tom Witkowski, FBI Agent Paul Cox, and New Hanover Assistant District Attorney John Sherrill went to Lakeisha Carter’s home. Sherrill was introduced to Lakeisha as the assistant district attorney, but remained silent while the others spoke with her about the Brunson case.

The following day, October 12, 1999, Detective Witkowski and Agent Cox returned to Lakeisha’s house and continued to ask her questions about Brunson.

Then, in the morning of October 14, 1999, Demetria Green went to the school where Lakeisha’s aunt worked in an attempt to contact Lakeisha. The aunt referred her to Lakeisha’s grandfather Rudolf Maulete, who had essentially raised Lakeisha because her mother was heavily involved with drugs. Demetria called Maulete and told him about the urgency of contacting Lakeisha, whereupon Maulete picked her up and they proceeded to Lakeisha’s house. Demetria told Lakeisha that if she did not go with her to make a statement to the authorities, that she would be arrested and charged as an accessory in the Donald Brunson murder. Believing Demetria’s warning to be credible after the recent previous visits from authorities, Lakeisha went with Demetria to Maulete’s car, and they all headed towards town.

On the way downtown, Demetria demanded that Mr. Maulete pull off the road so that she could make a call from a pay phone. (It has always been Shan’s belief that the call made from that pay phone by Demetria was to Cox, Witkowski, or someone in the Sheriff’s or District Attorney’s Office… most likely to let them know they were on the way or to get instructions as to where they would meet.) Demetria led them to the District Attorney’s Office where FBI Agent Paul Cox, Detective Tom Witkowski, Detective Blake Boaz, and prosecutors Ben David and John Sherrill just happened to be. It was Detectives Boaz and Witkowski, along with Agent Cox who then videotaped an interview with Lakeisha Carter, who had no attorney or legal representation. (That part of the transcript of the interview which exists will be posted later. In an affidavit Lakeisha stated that she had no idea that the interview was being recorded. Also, the prosecution claims that major portions of the interview were lost due to mechanical malfunctions with the recording devices.)

Despite the fact that only a selected portion of the videotaped interview was intact, the judge allowed its admission into evidence in the trial against Carter for the Brunson murder.

Knowing that the pay phone records would provide a link from Demetria Green to the prosecution’s team, Shan Carter tried feverishly to have his attorney Richard Miller obtain records from the telephone company. Miller stalled, and never did follow up on obtaining the pay phone records.

As early as January 26, 2001, Shan Carter asked his appeals attorney, Edwin L. West III to obtain the pay phone records. (Link below leads to letter to confirm such a request.) However, like Carter’s attorney before him, West dillydallied and did nothing to obtain such records, undoubtedly with the intent of protecting the prosecution team at the very expense of his client Shan Carter.

Shan’s next appeals attorney Sharon L. Smith mentions the pay phone in correspondence with Carter in letters dated March 19, 2008 through April 29, 2008, with the last letter explaining that the phone company had destroyed the pay phone records several years earlier. (Link below will lead to those letters.)

It is of interest to note in an affidavit by Sharon Smith that she was retained or appointed as Shan Carter’s appeals attorney no later than January 18, 2005. Yet, she apparently did not begin to investigate the pay phone records until March 19, 2008, more than three years later. According to the phone company, the pay phone records had been destroyed several years earlier. In other words, had Attorney Smith acted in a timely manner with regards to the pay phone records, there is a good likelihood that she would have been able to obtain them for Shan’s defense. Another example of inexplicable negligence on behalf of Carter’s attorneys which has been responsible for his failure to receive justice in the Brunson case… but then, maybe the delayed action by Shan’s defense attorneys over a decade (to simply obtain vitally important records about a pay phone) was intentional. Because of the inept representation Carter has received from the beginning, I am strongly inclined to believe the latter.

This is more than enough to digest at one sitting. More astounding revelations about the travesty of justice Shan Edward Carter has been subjected to by the North Carolina’s system of selective justice based on Class and Color will be forthcoming.

LINK: http://justice4nifong.com/direc/irepoDirec/irepoC/irC2direc.htm

Deadly 1997 confrontation between Shan Carter and Tyrone Baker

NOTICE OF ERROR in blog of December 3, 2010: The case against Shan Edward Carter defies all logic and rationale, therefore making even the simplest assumptions error-prone. In the December 3rd blog, which introduced a firearms altercation between drug-dealer Keith Richardson and Shan Carter, I attempted to present a situation similar to the Tyrone Baker shooting for comparison. Simply stated, Carter’s actions were defensive in dealing with Baker and Richardson. I stated that the prosecution ignored this, when in fact, they used the Richardson situation in the trials of Brunson’s murder as well as that of the deaths on Tenth and Dawson. However, the prosecution stated Richardson was unarmed. Refer to the blog posted on December 13, 2010 for further details.
- December 13, 2010


The blog of November 28, 2010 which introduced the outrageous legal inequities and injustices, including two capital convictions, against Shan Edward Carter, contained some errors of significance which, in my haste to post the story, did not carefully vet. Unlike Duke University, and most of the media (especially MSNBC) which refuse to man up and accept responsibility for their mistakes and errors, I have religiously followed the principles of “restorative justice” when I have erred. First, I accept full responsibility for the mistakes in that blog, although completely unintentional. I should have been more diligent in fact-checking the complex cases involving Shan Carter. Second, I give my sincerest apologies for misleading my readers. You deserve better, and I am glad that you challenge me when you feel that I got the story wrong. I am grateful for your vigilance. Third, if I have caused injury to anyone because of my misstatements, I would like to make them whole. I definitely have made efforts to correct the errors by posting a notice at the beginning of the November 28th blog alerting readers to the errors therein. The main text of the blog that was initially posted, however remains untouched. Fourth, I will try to see that such errors never recur by doing a better job of researching and never allowing assumptions to take the place of certainty of facts. When at all possible, if not much of a delay is involved, I will send my blog to Shan to review and make sure its contents are completely factual.

Although I had intended to discuss the shooting of Tyrone Baker with Shan during my visit with him at 11:00 am in Central Prison, a couple of hours before, when I went to the post office to mail some letters (see receipt on LINK), there was a letter from Shan in my post office box. In it, he informed me of errors in my November 28th blog even though we had not communicated about it previously. You will find that this letter is indicative of the credibility of the man, Shan Carter (see LINK). Below is the narrative of what transpired the day that drug-dealer Tyrone Baker and 8 year-old Demetrius Green lost their lives.

DECEMBER 6, 1996 – Shan Carter, Kwada Temoney, and Damont White burglarized drug-dealer Tyrone Baker’s apartment and steal $40,000 in cash, which they later split among themselves.

Tyrone Baker was a drug-dealer from New York, who dealt cocaine in the Wilmington, NC area, and a friend of Carter who knew Baker when he was in New York, warned Carter that Baker followed through on his threats. Word on the street was that Baker intended on killing those responsible for stealing $40,000 from his residence. Shan had heard from several sources that Baker was looking for those responsible for the burglary and that he was going to kill them. Carter was somewhat comforted by a gun he purchased on the street for his protection, a .357 Magnum revolver, which held six rounds, and which he kept in holster under is left arm.

FEBRUARY 16, 1997 – Shan Carter was parked on Dawson by the intersection with Tenth Street, and was approaching a store on the corner. Kwada Temoney was with Carter to his right. Before entering the store, Carter caught, out of the corner of his right field of vision, Kwada Temoney being struck in the face with a fist by a man Carter did not know. Kwada related to Carter later that he had been knocked out by the punch. The man then turned and began to approach Carter with a menacing look and without saying a word. Believing the man to be Baker, Carter began to back up. Although the weather was sunny and warm, especially for February, the man carried a heavy Army field coat folded over one of his arms, as if to conceal a weapon. Shan pulled his weapon from his holster, and Baker momentarily froze. Holding the weapon in one hand only and aiming low in an effort to wound and not kill, Shan fired two shots in quick succession as Baker turned to his right. The first bullet Shan believed struck Baker in his thigh, however, as Carter suggests the second shot when higher from the discharge after the first shot. Baker was struck just below the left rib cage as he was turning, and he then began running up Tenth Street. Carter, concerned that Baker might use the corner of the building as cover to in order to return fire, walked to the corner to take it out of the equation. As Baker ran up Tenth Street, Shan fired three more times to shepherd him along… at no time exposing his left side to Carter. Even when Baker crossed Tenth Street, his right side was exposed to Carter. Shan Carter noticed that Baker’s legs seemed wobbly before he fell, and Shan then proceeded to get into his car parked on Dawson, along with Temoney, who had recovered, and they drove off.

Renee Barnes, who admitted to knowing Tyrone Baker and who had braided his corn rows in the past, allegedly sold crack cocaine for Baker, too. She lived on the corner of Tenth and Dawson, across from the store where the incident took place. Accounts state that she allegedly ran from her apartment to the site where Tyrone Baker lay mortally wounded. He was gurgling and made a few statements to Renee before he died. Renee picked up the Army field coat (and possibly a weapon), and ran back to her house before the police arrived… which was not long after the shooting. She used the car keys in the coat to drive Tyrone Baker’s jeep (which may have been a rental) to the residence of Tyrone’s girlfriend. The coat eventually wound up in New York, and it was from New York that the detectives finally got possession of the coat in 1998. According to Renee, it had dried blood on it.

The prosecutions’ case of the premeditated murder of Tyrone Baker by Shan Carter simply does not hold water. It was strictly self-defense, and forensically the case supports the contention that Baker was struck with the first two bullets out of Carter’s gun, and not the three fired as Baker was fleeing. The autopsy medical examiner stated that an examination of the body showed that the bullet entered the front of Baker’s thigh and exited the back. Prosecution tried to debunk this finding by the SBI so-called ballistics expert stating that according to his examination of the pants Baker was wearing, the bullet had an entry wound on the back of the thigh and an exit on the front.

Although the prosecution stated that Shan Carter ran 30 feet up Tenth Street in pursuit of Baker, crime scene reconstruction of the bullet paths etc. determined that the shots came from the corner of Tenth and Dawson, as Shan has maintained.

Approximately two weeks before the Tenth and Dawson shooting, there was a similar incident involving Carter, which prosecution wished to ignore altogether. On February 5, 1997, Carter was walking with Julius Jones when another drug-dealer Keith Richardson approached them. Also a burglary victim of Carter, Richardson pulled a gun and asked Carter if his name is Shawn. Shan grabbed his gun and fired four or five times, striking Richardson in the forearm. Richardson ran one way, and Carter briskly walked away in the other. This, like the case with Baker, was self-defense, and Carter made no attempt to pursue and kill the drug-dealer. But, prosecutors never brought this case up, and never had anyone testify to the incident.

This case against Shan Carter is one of the most flawed I have ever seen and once some more of the evidence is presented, there is no doubt that you will agree that Shan Carter, instead of being on death row, should be released from prison. I believe that he has been rehabilitated and that to hold him on Death Row, or even in prison, is a waste of valuable taxpayer dollars.

LINK letter from Shan Carter:
http://justice4nifong.com/direc/irepoDirec/irepoC/irC1.htm

LINK post office receipt:
http://justice4nifong.com/direc/irepoDirec/irepoC/irC2.htm

Shan Edward Carter – An innocent man who North Carolina is trying to execute: a case exemplifying the state’s tenet of “selective justice based on Cla

NOTE: The blog below is rife with errors, all unintentional and the result of an attempt to get the important blog out before double checking on its accuracy. Because Shan Carter is currently incarcerated at Central Prison, communication is severely restricted to letter writing and weekly visits. In posting the blog below, I allowed my desire to get this most egregious legal system outcome before the public over waiting until it had been vetted by Shan for accuracy. One of the most blatantly false statements I made was that Kwada Temoney, Tyrone Baker, and Shan all started firing their weapons, when in fact Temoney was unarmed at that time, and Shan was the only one who fired. Another mistake had to do with dates… I stated that Shan was convicted of a capital case in the Baker/Green deaths in 1997, when, he was actually convicted in 2001. One final mistake towards the end of the blog was that I stated that the prosecution in the Brunson murder did not seek a death penalty conviction because the FBI lab was unable to link hair fiber evidence to Shan. That was incorrect, as the prosecution sought for a death penalty conviction for Shan Carter in Brunson’s death in a case without physical evidence, eyewitness evidence… Prosecutor John Sherrill sought a death penalty conviction in the Brunson murder based solely on hearsay testimony. For more a more accurate accounting on this story and errors made within this blog, go to the blog posted on December 3, 2010, titled: “Deadly 1997 confrontation between Shan Carter and Tyrone Baker.” - December 3, 2010


In 1997, the judicial system of North Carolina sentenced Shan (pronounced “Shawn”) Edward Carter to not one, but two death sentences. The year previously, in a third murder case, Carter was sentenced to a life sentence instead of death penalty number three, but only because the FBI was unable to match hair evidence from that murder case to him. The life term and capital convictions against Shan Carter would lead any reasonable person to believe that Shan is a monster of Charles Manson-esque proportions… however, that is truly not the case, as is indicated by even the most cursory examination of the facts in cases linked to Carter.

Mr. Carter, an African American male in his mid-thirties who is from a family not considered by most to be perched on the upper or middle rungs of our American societal class rankings, nicely fits into the state’s Class and Color scheme which defines him as being expendable according to North Carolina’s justice system. He is by no means a paragon of virtue and good citizenship, but by no means does he come close to being a cold blooded killer. In the mid-1990’s Shan was in his early twenties, and was a man whose drug habits involved marijuana and alcohol only. Shan dabbled in criminal acts, such as selling heroin, and committing burglary, often in conjunction with individuals of questionable character… common qualities of the company he kept in those days. And Shan did carry a gun on his person… not for use in the commission of crimes, rather for his own protection.

Why, you ask, would Shan Carter need protection? Because some drug dealers in the Wilmington area where he resided wanted to kill him. Why would drug dealers want to kill Mr. Carter? They targeted Carter because they believed that he had burglarized them (the drug dealers). Why would Carter burglarize the residences of drug dealers? Because that’s were the money and drugs were.

In November 1996, Shan, along with Kwada Temoney and Damont White burglarized the rental apartment of Tyrone Baker, a drug dealer from New York. At the time of the crime, Baker was unknown to Shan and Kwada, although Baker knew Damont White and had his confidence. In ransacking Baker’s apartment, the trio hit pay dirt when they came across forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00) stashed in a hiding place. Needless to say, Tyrone Baker was livid when he returned to find his apartment turned upside down, inside out, and his money missing. The first thing Baker did was to kidnap Lamont White, who he believed had a part in the burglary, and he then proceeded to pistol whip him into divulging the identities of White’s accomplices. Later, when Baker found Shan and Kwada Temoney near Tenth and Dawson Streets in Wilmington, Baker sucker punched Temoney sending him to the ground. All three men drew their guns, with Shan trying to aim low in an attempt to wound Baker in the leg. Temoney may have fired his weapon, as well. Shan ran after firing his weapon without knowing the outcome of his defensive response. Regardless, it wasn’t until news broadcasts aired much later that Shan learned that Demetrius Green, an eight year old boy was killed in the exchange of gunfire that took place on that corner. Carter had never seen the boy whose life was taken by a wayward bullet. It most certainly was not Carter’s intention to seek out the boy with the intent to take his life.

Weeks after the shootout involving Temoney and Carter, during the early hours of December 6, 1996, a masked Kwada Temoney, along with two others whose identities were shielded, broke into the home of Donald Brunson, a known drug dealer who was suspected of having a large amount of money hidden in his girlfriend’s home where he stayed. This home invasion of Brunson was carried out at approximately 3:00 am, according to Brunson’s girlfriend and a known victim/witness of the crime. Temoney pistol whipped Brunson in an attempt to get Brunson to give up the location of his financial cache. Brunson did not reveal the place where his money was hidden, but instead pleaded with his intruders, addressing Temoney by name. After Brunson recognized Temoney, he was taken from his girlfriend’s house by Temoney and his accomplices, and later turned up dead.

Although there was no forensic evidence or eyewitness testimony linking Shan Carter to the murder of Donald Brunson, Carter was charged as an accomplice in Brunson’s murder based solely on hearsay evidence by witnesses who lacked credibility. The prosecution made a plea deal (reminiscent of the kind made by Prosecutor Tom Ford in wrongly convicting Gregory Taylor) with Kwada Temoney which spared Temoney from the death penalty in exchange for Temoney giving testimony to implicate Shan Carter for being involved in the home invasion and the taking of Brunson’s life. Prosecutors also changed their narrative of the Donald Brunson murder stating that only two home invaders (Temoney and Shan Carter) were involved, instead of three as initially described by the victim/witness shortly after the crime took place.

In February 2, 2000, criminal defense attorney Richard Miller was appointed by the court to represent Shan Carter in the Brunson case after his predecessor William Bonney recused himself the previous month due to an apparent conflict of interest. Trial in the case against Carter was set to begin May 1, 2000, approximately three months after Miller was assigned. After accepting the case, and upon immediately noticing the lack of preparation by Carter’s former attorney, Miller, in March 2000, filed a motion asked Judge Hockenberry for a continuance for the beginning of the trial based on the following: 1) the defense had not been adequately prepared by his predecessor; 2) there had been little to no investigation done by the defense; 3) the prosecution had not turned over all discovery to the defense, and was slow to turn over discovery; and 4) Kenneth Hatcher, the attorney who had assisted Bonney initially, had no experience in handling defense in a capital case. Despite expressing to Judge Hockenberry his inability to adequately prepare to represent Carter by the trial date, the judge denied Miller’s motion to continue Carter’s trial.

During Carter’s 2000 trial for the murder of Donald Brunson, prosecutors made frequent references to the shootout involving Carter, Tyrone Baker, Kwada Temoney, during which Baker and eight year-old Demetrius Green were killed (even though the trial against Carter in this case had not yet been held and he had not been convicted of crimes in that case). Carter’s prosecutors sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigations lab in an attempt to link Carter to the Brunson murder through mitochondrial DNA of hair specimens collected from two ski masks and a toboggan cap discovered abandoned in the victim’s car used in his kidnapping. If a physical link could be established between evidence collected and Shan Carter, prosecutors had planned to seek a death penalty conviction. However, because the FBI lab was unable to produce forensic results for which the prosecutors had prayed would help bolster a case against Carter which was totally lacking in credible evidence, and which was based solely on questionable hearsay testimony from unreliable sources, they instead opted for, and were successful in obtaining, a conviction against Carter which carried a life sentence.

The Brunson case conviction of Carter was quickly followed by the 2001 trial of Shan Carter for capital murder charges against him in the deaths of Tyrone Baker – a drug dealer, and 8 year-old Demetrius Green. In his trial, held before a jury consisting of eleven white people and one African American male, prosecutors repeatedly tied Carter to the Brunson murder (a crime which Shan Carter had always maintained his innocence and denied any involvement). Prosecutors sought a conviction against Carter by preying on the jurors’ empathy and sympathy for the death of an eight year-old boy… advising them not to allow the boy’s death to go unpunished.

Despite the fact that bullets, which might have come from Carter’s gun, struck down an armed and vengeful drug dealer and may have caused the death of an 8 year-old boy, the jury gave prosecutors what it wanted… a capital conviction against Carter for the death of Tyrone Baker (obviously a case of self-defense), and a capital conviction against Carter for the death of the boy Demetrius Green (obviously an accidental and unintentional incident). (I am still uncertain as to whether it has been scientifically established that the bullet or bullets responsible for Green’s death came from Carter’s weapon.)

The record shows that the only time Shan Carter has ever drawn and fired his gun was when he perceived this life to be in danger… in self-defense. His criminal activities were not confrontational in nature, as they mainly consisted selling heroin and of participating in burglaries of dwellings in which no one was at home. Shan never engaged in the armed robbery of a bank, or the armed robbery of an individual. Nor did he ever arm himself for the purpose of going in pursuit of an individual with the intent of taking a life.

When I visited Shan Carter in prison, it was quite sobering to see him wearing a red jumpsuit, which signifies that he is a Death Row inmate. It is such a miscarriage of justice when one considers that he was convicted in the Donald Brunson murder without any credible evidence or eyewitness testimony. The conviction of Shan Carter for Brunson’s murder relied on perjured hearsay testimony of disreputable individuals making statements which the polygraph tester interpreted as deceptive and or statements made in exchange for money. Not only that, but the state withheld from the defense exculpatory mitochondrial DNA evidence on hair samples which supported Shan’s contention that he was not even present when the kidnapping and murder of Brunson took place. The prosecution played fast and loose with discovery by withholding it and/or unacceptably delaying turning it over to the defense.

Like the two preceding Investigative Reports about MSNBC Senior Legal Analyst Susan Filan’s libelous fabrications about Mike Nifong and Duke University’s discrimination against me for openly being a supporter of Mike Nifong, a third Investigative Report will go into depth about the injustices against Shan Edward Carter by the state of North Carolina and its attempt to execute him without cause.

At tremendous expense and waste of taxpayer dollars to hold an inmate on Death Row, the state is proceeding to apply the irrevocable and most extreme punishment to Shan Carter… a man who was completely innocent of the kidnapping and murder of drug dealer Donald Brunson… a man who may have fired the bullet that killed drug dealer Tyrone Baker during an act in self-defense… and a man who has served more than a decade behind bars and may have been responsible for the accidental and inadvertent death of Demetrius Green, an 8 year-old boy who was sitting in a car when struck by a ricocheting bullet. The upcoming Investigative Report, along with future blogs, will provide extensive documentation to support the position that Shan Carter should not only be taken off Death Row, but released from prison with time served for the possible manslaughter charge related to the accidental death of Demetrius Green.