On Thursday, defense attorneys and state prosecutors argued before the Court of Appeals for and against Lawrence Lovette receiving the possibility of parole for his role in Carson's kidnapping and murder.
A judge sentenced Lovette last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a US Supreme Court ruling that said life without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional for anyone under 18. Lovette was 17 years old at the time of the crime.
Lovette was convicted in December 2011 of first-degree murder in Carson's 2008 shooting death. A jury also found Lovette guilty of kidnapping, robbery with firearm, felony larceny and possession of stolen goods.
Following the jury's verdict, a judge sentenced Lovette to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals later ruled Lovette must be resentenced because mitigating factors were not considered before he received his mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors said during the trial that Lovette and Demario Atwater kidnapped Carson from her Chapel Hill home on March 5, 2008 and then drove her around in her SUV to various ATMs in Chapel Hill and Durham to withdraw cash from her accounts. They then shot her several times and left her body on a Chapel Hill street.
In 2011, Atwater took a plea deal on federal charges related to the Carson's kidnapping, carjacking and murder, and is currently serving a life sentence.
Meanwhile, Lovette's Court of Appeals decision could take several weeks or months.
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