Title: State v. Pearson

State: north-carolina

Issuer: North Carolina Supreme Court

Document:

215 S.E.2d 598 (1975)
STATE of North Carolina
v.
Charles Austin PEARSON.
No. 115.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.
June 26, 1975.
*600 Atty. Gen. Rufus L. Edmisten by Associate Atty. Archie W. Anders, Raleigh, for the State.
*601 Bailey, Brackett & Brackett by Allen A. Bailey and Kermit D. McGinnis, Charlotte, for defendant-appellant.
COPELAND, Justice.
In his supplemental brief, defendant addresses himself primarily to the trial court's charge as it related to self-defense.
After charging the jury correctly as to the grounds for self-defense, Judge Winner gave the following instruction:
At approximately 8:25 p. m. (Saturday night) the jury returned to the courtroom and asked the court to restate the elements of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and self-defense. During the course of this subsequent charge, Judge Winner instructed the jurors as follows:
As a result of the question propounded by the court, the following transpired:
Following the "bench conference" between the court and defendant's attorney, the court instructed the jury, in pertinent part, as follows:
After receiving all of the above instructions, the jury retired and shortly thereafter returned with a verdict finding defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Defendant strongly contends that the trial court committed prejudicial error when it instructed the jury on three separate occasions that "a person under the law may not normally avail himself of self defense when he has used deadly force to quell an assault by someone who has no deadly weapon." We find no merit in this contention.
In State v. Deck, 285 N.C. 209, 203 S.E.2d 830 (1974), this Court, in an opinion by Justice Branch, stated the general rules applicable to the defense of self-defense as follows:
In considering these general rules it is particularly important to keep in mind the distinction between deadly force (force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm) and nondeadly force (force neither intended nor likely to do so). It is also important to distinguish force which is reasonable from that which is unreasonable. One commentator has differentiated between the two as follows:
Another distinction applicable to the deadly forcenondeadly force dichotomy is made between assaults with felonious intent (use of deadly force) and assaults made without felonious intent (use of nondeadly force). In the latter the person assaulted may not stand his ground and kill *603 his adversary, if there is any way of escape open to him, although he is permitted to repel force by force and give blow for blow. See, e. g., State v. Anderson, 230 N.C. 54, 51 S.E.2d 895 (1949); State v. Ellerbe, 223 N.C. 770, 28 S.E.2d 519 (1944); State v. Bryant, 213 N.C. 752, 197 S.E. 530 (1938); State v. Johnson, 184 N.C. 637, 113 S.E. 617 (1922). In the former, however, where the attack is made with murderous intent (i. e., deadly force), the person attacked is under no obligation to retreat, but may stand his ground and kill his adversary, if need be. See, e. g., cases above cited. These retreat rules ordinarily have no application, however, when a person, who is free from fault in bringing on a difficulty, is attacked in his own dwelling, home, place of business, or on his own premises. In this type situation the law imposes no duty to retreat as a condition to exercising the right of self-defenseregardless of the character of the assault. See, e. g., State v. Pennell, 231 N.C. 651, 58 S.E.2d 341 (1950). A person assaulted in his home or place of business is said to already be "at the wall" and therefore need not retreat. See, e. g., State v. Miller, 221 N.C. 356, 20 S.E.2d 274 (1942).
A corollary of the above rules is the general principle, heretofore recognized by this Court, that deadly force is not privileged against nondeadly force. See, e. g., State v. Watkins, 283 N.C. 504, 196 S.E.2d 750 (1973); State v. Ellerbe, supra; State v. Dills, 196 N.C. 457, 146 S.E. 1 (1929); State v. Gaddy, 166 N.C. 341, 81 S.E. 608 (1914); State v. Hill, 141 N.C. 769, 53 S.E. 311 (1906). See also State v. Winford, 279 N.C. 58, 181 S.E.2d 423 (1971) (negative inference). But, even this rule is qualified where there is a great disparity in strength between the defendant and his assailant, or where the defendant is attacked by more than one assailant. Under these circumstances, death or great bodily harm is possible without the use of any weapons by the assailant or the assailants, and the defendant therefore may be justified in employing deadly force to repel such an attack. See, e. g., State v. Gaddy, supra; State v. Hill, supra. See generally Perkins, supra, at 993-1018.
In State v. Hill, supra, the above rule was well stated by Justice Hoke as follows:
In State v. Gaddy, supra, this Court, in an opinion by Justice Allen, found no error in the following charge (taken from the Hill case, supra):
Suffice it to say, the charge complained of by defendant in the instant case is in accord with the rule of law applicable under these facts and is virtually identical to the language used by and approved by this Court in Hilland Gaddy. Defendant strongly contends, however, that the instant charge is erroneous under authority of State v. Francis, 252 N.C. 57, 112 S.E.2d 756 (1960). In Francis the defendant was charged in a bill of indictment with felonious assault (now G.S. § 14-32(a)). The alleged assault occurred in the defendant's place of business. In charging the jury on the law of self-defense, Judge Pless gave the following instruction:
In awarding the defendant in Francis a new trial, this Court, in an opinion by Justice Denny (later Chief Justice) stated:
We agree with defendant that the italicized portion of the charge in Francis was error under the facts of that case. However, under the facts of the instant case such charge was a correct statement of the law. The distinguishing factors involve the relationship of the various retreat rules to the type of force employed by the assailant. *605 For example, if a person is attacked in his own dwelling, home, place of business, or on his own premises, and is also free from fault in bringing on the difficulty, he is under no duty to retreat, whether the assailant is employing deadly force or nondeadly force. Of course, in order to justify the use of deadly force under these circumstances the person attacked must believe it to be necessary and must have a reasonable ground for such belief. On the other hand, where the person attacked is not in his own dwelling, home, place of business, or on his own premises, then the degree of force he may employ in self-defense is conditioned by the type of force used by his assailant. If the assailant uses nondeadly force, then generally deadly force cannot be used by the person attacked; provided there is no great disparity in strength, size, numbers, etc., between the person attacked and his assailant. However, if the assailant uses deadly force, then the person attacked may stand his ground and kill his attacker if he believes it to be necessary and he has a reasonable ground for such belief.
Applying the above rules to the Francis case and to our case, the following distinguishing factors become apparent. (1) The defendant in Francis was in his own place of business. Hence, he was under no duty to retreat as a condition to exercising the right of self-defenseregardless of the character of the assault (i. e., deadly or nondeadly). It was therefore error to charge the jury that generally speaking he could not employ deadly force to repel the attack. (2) On the other hand, defendant in our case was not attacked in his own dwelling, home, place of business, or on his own premises. He was attacked in the parking lot of the Cedar Rock Country Club. Also, there was no evidence that any of his assailants assaulted him with deadly force. Hence, he was not privileged to use deadly force to repel the attack, unless, due to the great disparity in strength, size, numbers, etc., between him and his assailants he believed, and had a reasonable basis for such belief, that he would be subjected to death or great bodily harm if he did not defend himself with deadly force. It was therefore not error to charge the jury that "normally" he could not use deadly force unless the jury was "satisfied that because of the number of attackers or their size or the fierceness of the attack or all three . . defendant believed from the circumstances that he was in danger of death or suffering great bodily harm and that the belief was reasonable under the circumstances as they appeared to him at that time. . . ."
Accordingly, for the reasons above stated, we hold that the portion of the judge's charge complained of was not error but constituted a clear, accurate, and full statement of the law of this State. Defendant's contention is therefore rejected.
Defendant brought forward numerous assignments of error in his brief to the Court of Appeals. However, in his supplemental brief to and oral arguments before this Court he only pursued the assignment and exceptions related to the instructions on self-defense. We have answered this issue in favor of the State. We have closely examined all the other assignments and approve of the action taken by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in connection therewith.
In the final analysis the evidence in this case was in sharp conflict. The verdict rested with the credibility of the witnesses in the eyes of the jurors. The jury, after receiving a proper charge from Judge Winner on the law of self-defense as applied to these particular facts, has spoken. The decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals is therefore affirmed.
Affirmed.