After the murder, defendant, who had dated Porter for approximately two years, was found with blood on his clothing and acknowledged striking Porter. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the lesser included offense of second degree murder. The trial court sentenced defendant to thirty-five years imprisonment. Attorney General Michael F. Easley, by Special Deputy Attorney General Jacob L. Safron, for the State. Appellate Defender Malcolm R. Hunter, Jr., by Assistant Appellate Defender Gordon Widenhouse, for defendant appellant.
Defendant brings forth several arguments on appeal.
In his first argument, defendant contends the trial court erred during jury selection in denying a challenge for cause, and that this denial violated his rights to a fair trial and due process of law. During jury selection, defendant moved to excuse juror Waldroup for cause. Waldroup was an employee of the Graham Star, the local newspaper, and well aware of the case before becoming a member of the jury pool. A. Well, as of right now the burden of proof would have to be on the defense as far as I'm concerned. That's what I meant, yes.