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North Carolina v. Handy6/25/1992
Morgan's hotel room for the purpose of robbing Morgan, knowing that defendant's chances of success were greater because Morgan was intoxicated. Moreover, we conclude that the evidence establishing Morgan's apparent inability to flee, fend off, or otherwise avoid defendant's attack, heretofore discussed, sufficiently supports a finding that defendant took advantage of Morgan's physical infirmity during the course of the robbery and murder. Thus, the trial court did not err in finding as an aggravating factor that the victim was physically infirm as a result of intoxication.
VI.
Finally, defendant contends that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing on his armed robbery conviction because the trial court failed to find the existence of the statutory mitigating factor that "defendant acted under strong provocation, or the relationship between the defendant and the victim was otherwise extenuating," N.C.G.S. § 15A-1340.4(a)(2)(i) (Supp. 1991). Defendant argues that it was error for the trial court not to find the existence of this
mitigating factor because strong provocation and an extenuating relationship were both proved by uncontradicted evidence establishing that defendant had killed Morgan as a result of a homosexual advance. We disagree.
As discussed previously herein, the evidence of provocation on the part of the victim was not uncontradicted. As we stated in Faison, "this case, in essence, boiled down to whether jurors believed defendant's version of what happened . . . or whether they believed the State's version of events." Faison, 330 N.C. at 362, 411 S.E.2d at 152. The State presented ample evidence from which it could reasonably be inferred that defendant went to Morgan's hotel room for the purpose of robbing Morgan. The State did introduce into evidence statements wherein defendant asserted that he killed Morgan as a result of a homosexual advance and subsequently took Morgan's property only to make it appear as though Morgan was killed during the course of a robbery. However, the mere fact that the State introduced these statements into evidence does not mean that the evidence of provocation was uncontradicted. See Wooten, 295 N.C. at 387-88, 245 S.E.2d at 705. By returning a verdict finding defendant guilty of first-degree murder with premeditation and deliberation rather than a verdict of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, the jury rejected defendant's claim of provocation. Thus, the trial court did not err in failing to find in mitigation of the robbery that defendant acted under strong provocation or that the relationship between defendant and Morgan was otherwise extenuating.
We conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free of prejudicial error.
NO ERROR.
Disposition
NO ERROR.
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