According to his lawyer, anyone who spends 30 minutes with Rae Carruth knows the former Carolina Panther isn't capable of murder.

But whether the jurors deciding the ex-football player's fate will get that chance remains unknown.

Defense attorney David Rudolf has boasted to reporters that his client welcomes the opportunity to take the stand to tell his story. But Rudolf said that, while he believes Carruth would make a good witness, he has not yet decided whether he'll be calling him to testify.

In fact, Rudolf has remained tight-lipped about any witnesses he is planning to present as part of the defense's case.

About the only name confirmed on the witness list is that of renowned forensic expert Henry Lee, perhaps best known for his key testimony in the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. Lee already testified before a video camera last week, since a scheduling conflict prohibited him from coming to Charlotte at a later date in the trial.

Jurors may also have gotten a sneak peek at what some of Carruth's friends think of the once-promising athlete. This came, oddly enough, from a prosecution witness.

Tanya Ferguson, who said she was like the defendant's "big sister," set the tone for the defense's likely depiction of Rae Carruth. She testified last Wednesday about the hours before the shooting, when she and boyfriend Hannibal Navies, Carruth's former college roommate and a fellow Carolina Panther, met up with Carruth and Adams at the movies.

Although she had been called by the prosecution, Ferguson on cross-examination helped the defense. Ferguson said tearfully that Carruth was "a very caring and a very loving person" with a great sense of humor.

She also said that Carruth was looking forward to becoming a father for the second time, and her description of Carruth's attitude and actions at the hospital that night differs completely from the testimony of an earlier prosecution witness, Candace Smith.

To help neutralize such damaging testimony, Rudolf could call other women friends who had a positive opinion of Carruth.

Like Tanya Ferguson, Star Walker is a platonic friend of Rae Carruth. They became acquainted when her son, Jacobe, then 6, met Carruth at a barbershop. Carruth became Jacobe's friend and godfather.

Walker described the relationship between her son and Carruth: "They'd go to Rae's house and play video games, wrestle and feed Rae's pets." The pets included an alligator named Bobby Boucher. Ms. Walker laughed and said, "Bobby didn't grow at all; trust Rae to buy a defective alligator!"

She said that Carruth coached a t-ball team, and when he found that some of the players didn't have gloves, he purchased them: "He did it very quietly. He wasn't looking for publicity, and he didn't want to embarrass the parents who couldn't afford to buy them on their own."

Walker said that while Carruth had no intention of marrying Cherica Adams, he was looking forward to the birth of his second son. This caused Jacobe to worry that, once the baby arrived, "Uncle Rae" wouldn't be coming around any more, according to Walker. She said, "I told Rae about that, and he took Jacobe out for the afternoon. When they got back, Jacobe was really excited. He said that Uncle Rae had told him that the baby would be another pal, and that Jacobe and he would have to teach the baby how to play.

Walker added that Carruth had been eager to rejoin the team at the time Cherica was shot: "He'd been working out and his injury was not really bothering him. Rae took care of himself, and he was ready to play again."

Walker describes Carruth as strong, religiously speaking: "Rae's not one of those people who suddenly got religion when he went to jail. When he was with the Panthers, he used to read a devotional called "Our Daily Bread" every day. He told me that he's reading his Bible in his cell."

Another viable candidate for the witness stand could be Carruth's agent, Jeff Sperbeck, who said the Panthers liked his client's work ethic and that his ankle injury was far from career-threatening. Sperbeck said that negotiations for a new contract were " ... well under way," and that Carruth's speed was, " ... exceptional, even by NFL standards."

Sperbeck, Carruth's mother, Theodry, and Carruth's high school coach, Dave Hoskins, had been looking into starting a youth home. The home would have been financed by part of the money Carruth would have received when he signed a new contract.

Once he was incarcerated, negotiations ended, and so did payments under his existing contract. "There's no money coming in, now," Sperbeck said, "so Rae doesn't need an agent anymore. Now I'm just his friend."

Ronnie DeLapp, a private investigator and part-time bondsman may be able to shed a more favorable light on Carruth's flight to Tennessee while out on bail. Carruth claimed that he had no intention of staying on the run and was going to turn himself into authorities following Adams' death, but needed some time to think. He was found 24 hours later in a car trunk parked in a motel in Wildersville, Tenn. The car belonged to another female friend, Wendy Cole, who likely won't testify because of a harboring a fugitive charge pending against her. According to DeLapp, who provided Carruth's bail, there were a number of calls to his office before Carruth's capture, including one from Carruth's mother. "She said that someone named Wendy would be calling us," DeLapp says.

DeLapp subsequently spoke with Carruth and urged him to surrender. He said that speaking via phone to a client who was in the trunk of a car was, "a first for me."

Friends and family members have described Carruth as a very private person. Now, in a trial in which his life is at stake, the most intimate details of his private life are in the public domain.

Halloran, a Denver-based free-lance writer and broadcast journalist, reported on the Carruth case in Colorado and North Carolina, for GEAR Magazine. Although the article to which he contributed appeared in March, a number of the people he interviewed have remained in touch with him.