When asked, Bill King said he was thinking
of Daniel and the beauty of Pensacola Beach in contrast with Daniel in a cell, isolated
for 11 months.
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/061603/Local/ST006.shtml
Fund-raiser for murder case Family, friends stage benefit for teen
accused in uncle`s slaying
MichaelStewart@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Daniel Carter, 16, sat in solitary confinement at Escambia County Jail on Saturday
afternoon while supporters gathered at Bamboo Willie's Beachside Bar on Pensacola Beach to
raise enough money to defend the boy accused of murdering his uncle in July.
Owners of Bamboo Willie's provided space for the booth where Carter's friends were sold
barbecue dinners with all the fixings and a glass of iced tea for $6.
Pace resident and caterer Tom Stewart donated the 200 dinners, and local musician Tim
Spencer performed for the benefit.
Daniel Carter's mother, Cindy Carter, said she expects that at least $20,000 is needed to
defend her son against accusations that he killed Jack Carter.
More fund raisers are planned, and the need for cash is more urgent with the Wednesday
death of Daniel Carter's attorney, James Stokes, benefit organizers said. Stokes, 47, and
Pensacola businessman John Johnson, 50, died when an ultralight aircraft that the two
co-owned crashed into a tree in rural Elsanor, Ala.
"Murder cases run up to $35,000," Cindy Carter said. "James agreed to take
the case for $10,000 with payments of $100 a month."
Donna Gallegos, a member of the child-advocacy group Kids in Court, said starting over
with a new attorney could be expensive. It also costs money for trial consultants and the
forensic and medical experts needed for Daniel Carter's murder trial.
"It costs a tremendous amount of money," Gallegos said. "Unfortunately, the
majority of cases we see where children
are charged as adults involve defendants from low- and middle-class families. It's hard to
get a fair trial without money."
Jack Carter died July 16 from knife wounds he suffered during a fight with Daniel Carter.
Cindy Carter asked her brother to come
over that night to talk to Daniel, "who was headed in the wrong direction."
Cindy Carter, who was in her bedroom with a broken leg during the
incident, said Jack Carter was the aggressor in the incident and
that her son picked up a knife to scare away his uncle.
Friends of Jack Carter, however, describe Daniel Carter as a troubled youth involved with
drugs who grew increasingly hostile
through the years. They believe Daniel Carter killed his uncle in a rage.
Most of the people who wandered off Quietwater Beach and into Bamboo Willie's during
Saturday's benefit were vacationers who had never heard of Daniel Carter or his uncle.
Pensacola resident Susie Moorman didn't know about the benefit when she wandered by Bamboo
Willie's. But she has heard about the case.
"What I think happened really doesn't matter," Moorman said. "Hopefully
though, the state can get him some counseling because he's going to need it.
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