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State v. Rush5/5/1995
t instructed the jury on possible verdicts of guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or voluntary manslaughter and of not guilty. Defendant argues that the self-defense instructions incorrectly allowed a verdict of guilty of voluntary manslaughter based on a defense of imperfect self-defense only if defendant reasonably believed it was necessary to kill in self-defense. We recently decided this issue against defendant's position in State v. Rose, 335 N.C. 301, 330-31, 439 S.E.2d 518, 534, cert. denied, U.S. , 129 L. Ed. 2d 883 (1994), and State v. Watson, 338 N.C. 168, 179-81, 449 S.E.2d 694, 702-03 (1994), cert. denied, U.S. , L. Ed. 2d , (1995). We decline to reconsider our position. We also note that the fact that the victim had been shot in the back of the head, and thus could not have been facing defendant when he was shot, strongly negates any theory of self-defense.
Finally, any alleged error in the instructions was not prejudicial because the jury rejected both voluntary manslaughter and second-degree murder when it found defendant guilty of first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation. By so doing, the jury necessarily rejected the theory of an unintentional killing. See State v. Hardison, 326 N.C. 646, 654-55, 392 S.E.2d 364, 369 (1990) (if failing to instruct on voluntary manslaughter was error, harmless because jury was properly instructed on second-degree murder and found defendant guilty of first-degree murder based on premeditation and deliberation). This assignment of error is overruled.
We conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free from prejudicial error.
NO ERROR.
Disposition
NO ERROR.
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