Former Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth is eligible for parole in October, and at some point after that, he wants to take custody of his 18-year-old son. That young man requires special care because he has mental and physical challenges, the result of being a seven-month-old fetus when Carruth arranged to have his mother shot to death in 1999.
Carruth, a former first-round pick by Carolina, was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison in 2001, and he has remained nearly silent about that episode, including at his trial, when he did not take the stand. Now 44, he broke that silence Monday, sending a letter to a Charlotte, North Carolina, TV station and subsequently telling it in an interview from prison that he was apologetic for the death of Cherica Adams.