CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court chose to overturn an appeals court decision that would have altered the prison sentence for a man convicted of killing a protester in 2016.
The court ruled that Rayquan Borum, 28, will serve 24-30 years in prison for shooting and killing Justin Carr in September 2016. This reverses a court of appeals decision that ruled Borum's sentence in Mecklenburg County court was given the wrong classification level.
Borum shot and killed Carr on Sept. 21, 2016, according to court records. Carr was attending a protest for Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers the day before.
Witnesses and prosecutors said Borum aimed a gun at police near the protest when he fired his weapon, hitting Carr.
Borum was charged with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
In February 2019, Borum was found guilty of both crimes. He was subsequently sentenced to 290 months to 370 months in prison.
In determining Borum's prison sentence, the court used B1 felony guidelines, rather than the lower-level B2 felony classification that can be used for second-degree murder if certain parameters are reached.
Borum's verdict sheet showed three types of malice that jurors could select from; "actual malice," "condition of mind" malice," and "depraved-heart malice." The jury found him guilty of all three forms of malice.
Using this information, the court sentenced him on B1 felony grounds. However, Borum's attorneys believed he should have been charged with a B2 felony because the "depraved-heart malice" measure calls for second-degree murder to be charged as such.
Borum appealed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals as he believed he should have been sentenced for a B2 felony. Borum believed the jury's verdict was "ambiguous" because the malice guidelines supported different levels of felonies.
The appeals court sided with Borum in November 2020 and ordered his case to be resentenced in Mecklenburg County court.
Prosecutors petitioned to the North Carolina Supreme Court on the appeals court decision.
On Thursday, the court reversed the appeals court ruling, saying the jury's decision was not ambiguous and that jurors understood their assignment when deciding which forms of malice Borum acted in.
"The jury was repeatedly instructed on the different forms of malice, and through a special verdict form, the jury explicitly found that all three forms of malice were present, including the types of malice that require a Class B1 felony sentence," wrote Anita Earls, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
Borum is currently imprisoned at the Bertie Correctional Institution in Bertie County, North Carolina. He is scheduled for release in September 2045.