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State v. Johnson4/7/1995
ORR, Justice.
On 16 September 1991, defendant was indicted for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson, and two counts of first-degree murder by being an accessory before the fact. On 9 November 1992, defendant was also indicted for accessory before the fact to first-degree arson. Defendant was tried before a jury, and on 24 November 1992, the jury found defendant guilty of all charges. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended life sentences for the murder convictions. In accordance with the jury's recommendation, the trial court entered judgments sentencing defendant to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the murder convictions, followed by ten years' imprisonment for conspiracy to commit first-degree arson and twenty years' imprisonment for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The trial court arrested judgment on the arson conviction as the underlying felony which served as the basis for application of the felony murder rule.
On appeal, defendant brings forward numerous assignments of error. After a thorough review of the transcript of the proceedings, the record on appeal, the briefs, and oral arguments, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial free from prejudicial error, and, for the reasons set forth below, we therefore affirm his convictions and sentences
.
At trial, the State's evidence tended to show the following: Martha Howell testified that in September 1991, her aunt and uncle, Lillie and Aaron Barber, lived in a brick house in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and that the Barbers' granddaughter, April Barber, lived with them. At this time, Aaron Barber was eighty-three years old, Lillie Barber was seventy-seven years old, and April Barber was fifteen years old. Howard Laney, a coroner affiliated with the Mulberry Fair Plains Fire Department, testified that on the night of 4 September 1991 he responded to a call concerning a fire at the Barbers' residence. Laney testified that when he arrived at the Barbers' residence, he found a woman lying face down approximately ten to twelve feet from the house. The injured woman was later identified as Lillie Barber. Laney testified that Mrs. Barber was "crying, saying she was hurting, and [that] her husband and granddaughter [were] in the house." Danny Gamble, chief of the Mulberry Fair Plains Fire Department, arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, and Laney informed him that there were two people in the house.
Chief Gamble testified that he and another fireman entered the house through the carport and that the house was filled with smoke and intense heat. Chief Gamble testified that during their search of the house, he and the other fireman found the body of a man lying face down in a bedroom. After carrying the man outside, Chief Gamble was able to identify him as Aaron Barber. Chief Gamble testified that although he knew that Mr. Barber "was black in color," "his whole body was white, like his whole body was blistered." Mr. Barber was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room. The firemen continued to search the house but never found any other bodies.
Chief Gamble also testified that after the fire was over, he observed April Barber standing "in an arm and arm position" with defendant outside the house next to the highway and that April did not look like she had been in the fire. Chief Gamble testified that he questioned April and that "as a result of the questions asked her, felt like something was wrong."
Mrs. Barber was admitted to Baptist Hospital on 5 September 1991. Dr. Meredith, the director of the Baptist Hospital Burn Unit, testified that
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