The county district attorney announced yesterday he will not seek the death penalty in the murder case involving a former Penn State football player.

LaVon Chisley, 23, of Waldorf, Md., now faces life in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder of Penn State student Langston Carraway, 26, whose body was found with 93 stab and slash wounds June 5 in his apartment, 110 Northbrook Lane.

Police have said Chisley, who maintains his innocence, and Carraway were known to be friends.

Chisley also faces a third-degree murder charge.

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said he determined the case lacked elements that would constitute seeking the death penalty for Chisley.

Karen Muir, Chisley's lawyer, could not be reached for comment on the decision as of press time yesterday.

The Pennsylvania Judicial Code lays out 18 aggravating circumstances as requirements for a death penalty case and "those circumstances do not exist in this case," Madeira said.

Robbery is being investigated as Chisley's alleged motive, but to be considered an aggravated circumstance it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, which Madeira said he isn't sure he could do.

According to court documents, Chisley owed more than $50,000 to numerous parties, including sports agents, a dog breeder and a tattoo artist. But when he wasn't drafted into the NFL as he had anticipated, Chisley no longer had the means to pay back the money he had promised, according to court documents.

However, Madeira said he was not considering charging Chisley with robbery.

Another aggravating circumstance discussed in the weeks leading up to the death penalty decision was torture.

"As heinous as the crime was, I don't believe that the requirements of what, or the definition of what would be torture, is met in this matter," Madeira said. "When you look at those cases and what torture is, we're not anywhere near that in this case."

The decision to seek the death penalty must be made before the defendant's formal arraignment -- which Chisley waived his right to -- and is "not taken lightly," Madeira said.

"I spoke with a member of the [Carraway] family, and he fully understood when I laid out what the aggravating circumstances were, when I told him we would not be seeking the death penalty," Madeira said, "... he understood why I wasn't and was in agreement with it."