A new law in North Carolina allows prosecutors to seek...

A new law in North Carolina allows prosecutors to seek a first-degree murder conviction with a sentence of life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty.
Previously, prosecutors were required to seek the death penalty if one or more aggravating factors were present in a murder case. The new law allows prosecutors to secure a conviction, sometimes through a plea bargain, sparing the defendant a possible death sentence, and keeping the victims' families from the pain of a trial and subsequent appeals. It will also save the state considerable amounts of money. According to a 1993 Duke University study, seeking the death penalty adds more than $300,000 to the cost of a non-capital case, more than the $166,000 savings in prison costs.