Rayquan Borum found guilty of second-degree murder

Rayquan Borum has been found guilty of second degree murder. 

The jury deliberated for three days (15 hours) before coming back with a verdict in the murder trial. The case stems from the 2016 killing of Justin Carr during the Charlotte protests of the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott. 

Borum was accused of shooting Carr on the night of September 21, 2016. A witness testified that he saw Borum point the gun at police first and fire, but he says the gun didn't fire the first time. That witness says Borum's second shot hit Carr. Prosecutors argued that video evidence showed Borum committing the crime. 

The defense said Borum was coerced into a confession, and there's a lack of evidence in the case.

Jurors had to make a decision on first or second degree murder.

Immediately after the verdict, Judge Gregory Hayes sentenced Borum to 276 to 344 months in prison for the second degree murder conviction and 14 to 26 months for the firearm conviction. He has 896 days credit for time already served, so his time in prison will be roughly 24 to 30 years.

If Borum had been convicted of first degree murder, he would have faced life in prison without parole.

"I feel like the whole trial was about the defendant," said Vivian Carr, Justin Carr's mother. She later said, "My son had just discovered his purpose in life."

She was emotional in court following the verdict, sharing details about Carr's life that she felt weren't brought to light. 

"My son was down there taking a stand for a cause he strongly believed in," she said. "He wasn't just anybody. I had three sons and my baby was taken away from me."