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North Carolina v. McKoy9/7/1988
uld mumble but he could not understand him and that defendant, though standing, was "wobbly." The emergency room physician testified that defendant had a strong odor of alcohol, did not respond coherently to the doctor's questions, and, notwithstanding a laceration to his skull and a wound to his left buttocks, did not complain of any pain and was not given any medication for pain. Defendant had a blood alcohol level of .264 shortly after the shooting. Dr. Robert Rollins, clinical director of the Dorothea Dix forensic psychiatry unit, included among defendant's diagnoses: "episodic alcohol abuse," "alcohol intoxication, recovered," and
"organic delusional syndrome." In Dr. Rollins' professional opinion, defendant could not distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the offense and could not have formed the specific intent to kill the officer. In the opinion of Dr. Patricio Lara, another Dorothea Dix Hospital psychiatrist who also examined defendant, his intoxication, together with his limited intellectual functioning and personality disorder, resulted in an impairment of his ability, at the time of the offense, to conform his conduct with the requirements of the law.
Intoxication, even when voluntary, may constitute a valid defense to the charge of murder in the first degree. See, e.g., State v. Lowery, 309 N.C. 763, 309 S.E.2d 232 (1983) (if defendant was intoxicated to a degree precluding premeditation and deliberation, he cannot be found guilty of murder in the first degree); State v. Medley, 295 N.C. 75, 243 S.E.2d 374 (1978) (defendant cannot be convicted of murder in the first degree if intoxicated to a degree sufficient to preclude forming a specific intent to kill).
This Court has held that " juror who reveals that he is unable to accept a particular defense or penalty recognized by law is prejudiced to such an extent that he can no longer be considered competent." State v. Leonard, 296 N.C. 58, 62-63, 248 S.E.2d 853, 855 (1978). Thus, permitting defendant to be tried for his life by a jury whose members had expressly committed themselves to disregard what proved to be substantial evidence that defendant was highly intoxicated at the time the fatal shot was fired infringed upon his fundamental right to be tried by an impartial jury.
As stated by the Supreme Court of Mississippi in Stringer v. State, 500 So. 2d 929 (1986):
It is improper influence to put the jury in a 'box' by voir dire tactics which extract a promise, prior to trial, to ignore evidence favorable to the defendant. This promise or pledge prevents the jurors from considering all facts relevant to the verdict. The jurors are then called upon during closing arguments to fulfill that promise, and the effect -- whether calculated or not -- is to shame or coerce the jury into rejecting factors which would tend to mitigate against the death penalty.
Id., 500 So. 2d at 936-37.
For all of the reasons indicated herein, and for the reasons set forth in the dissenting opinion of Justice Martin, defendant should be given a new trial. Even if his conviction is upheld, he should be given a new sentencing hearing for the reasons stated in the dissenting opinion of the Chief Justice.
Proportionality
Because I do not believe that defendant has received a fair trial free of prejudicial error, I would not reach the question of proportionality. However, since the majority reaches that question and finds that the death sentence is not disproportionate in this case, I write to express my disagreement with that
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