Death penalty dropped in murder trial over virus concerns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina district attorney has dropped a capital murder charge against a man in the 2017 death of his parents, citing an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 to those associated with the trial.

Mecklenburg County Assistant District Attorney Jodi Anderson told a judge that because death penalty trials routinely run on for months, they carry an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure for jurors, judges, witnesses and other court personnel, The Charlotte Observer reported. Any outbreaks of the disease during the trial could indefinitely delay a verdict.

Curtis Atkinson Jr. is accused of the shooting and stabbing deaths of his parents, Ruby and Curtis Sr. By the time the Atkinsons were found in their east Charlotte home, they had been dead for days.

Atkinson Jr. will now be tried in May on a first-degree murder charge. If he is convicted, he now faces a mandatory life sentence.

COVID-19 shut down the North Carolina system for much of 2020. Because of pandemic-driven staff shortages and health safety protocols, the Mecklenburg County courthouse is still operating more slowly, leading to long backlogs.