{
  "id": 8548894,
  "name": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. RAY THOMAS TILLEY",
  "name_abbreviation": "State v. Tilley",
  "decision_date": "1973-05-23",
  "docket_number": "No. 7317SC357",
  "first_page": "291",
  "last_page": "293",
  "citations": [
    {
      "type": "official",
      "cite": "18 N.C. App. 291"
    }
  ],
  "court": {
    "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.",
    "id": 14983,
    "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals"
  },
  "jurisdiction": {
    "id": 5,
    "name_long": "North Carolina",
    "name": "N.C."
  },
  "cites_to": [
    {
      "cite": "198 S.E. 2d 897",
      "category": "reporters:state_regional",
      "reporter": "S.E.2d",
      "opinion_index": 0
    },
    {
      "cite": "282 N.C. 490",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "N.C.",
      "case_ids": [
        8566737
      ],
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/nc/282/0490-01"
      ]
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  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T21:14:36.293491+00:00",
  "provenance": {
    "date_added": "2019-08-29",
    "source": "Harvard",
    "batch": "2018"
  },
  "casebody": {
    "judges": [
      "Judges Campbell and Vaughn concur."
    ],
    "parties": [
      "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. RAY THOMAS TILLEY"
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "PARKER, Judge.\nThe sole assignment of error relates to a portion of the court\u2019s charge to the jury. While referring to the testimony of the prosecuting witness which described events in the laundromat, the trial judge stated that she had testified \u201cthat he (the defendant) told her that he had already killed two women and that he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to kill another one.\u201d The record on appeal shows that what the witness actually testified was as follows:\n\u201cAs to what he said when he first put the knife to my back, when I told him I wasn\u2019t going with him, he said he had already killed two women, and he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to do otherwise.\u201d\nWhile the meaning of the phrase, \u201cwouldn\u2019t hesitate to do otherwise,\u201d is not entirely clear, defendant\u2019s statement that \u201che had already killed two women,\u201d made while he held a knife to the back of the prosecuting witness, was starkly clear. Defendant\u2019s actions and words, as testified to by the prosecuting witness, taken together could convey but one clear and terrifying message \u2014 that he was a dangerous and violent man and that her life was at stake.\nIn this State, kidnapping is \u201cdefined generally as the unlawful taking and carrying away of a human being against his will by force, threats, or fraud.\u201d State v. Dix, 282 N.C. 490, 198 S.E. 2d 897. The testimony of the prosecuting witness in this case abundantly demonstrated the use by defendant of force and threats to carry her away with him against her will. It is inconceivable that the slight inaccuracy in the trial judge\u2019s recitation of the evidence, which is the only matter complained of on this appeal, could have affected the jury\u2019s verdict. Moreover, \u201cslight inaccuracies in the statement of the evidence must be called to the court\u2019s attention in time to afford opportunity for correction, in order for an exception thereto to be considered.\u201d 7 Strong, N. C. Index 2d, Trial, \u00a7 33, p. 333.\nWe have carefuly reviewed the entire record. Defendant has been given a fair trial free from prejudicial error. He was represented at the trial and on this appeal by competent counsel who were diligent on his behalf. The evidence amply supports the verdict. In the entire proceedings and in the judgment imposed we find\nNo error.\nJudges Campbell and Vaughn concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "PARKER, Judge."
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Attorney General Robert Morgan by Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Webb for the State.",
      "Rodenbough & Price by Ronald M. Price; and Price, Osborne, Johnson & Blackwell by D. Floyd Osborne for defendant a-ppellant."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. RAY THOMAS TILLEY\nNo. 7317SC357\n(Filed 23 May 1973)\nCriminal Law \u00a7 113\u2014 inaccuracy in recitation of evidence \u2014 absence of prejudice\nIn this kidnapping prosecution, the trial court\u2019s statement in the charge that the victim testified defendant told her he had already killed two women \u201cand that he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to kill another one,\u201d when in fact the victim testified defendant told her he had already killed two women \u201cand he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to do otherwise,\u201d is held not to constitute prejudicial error.\nAppeal by defendant from Wood, Judge, 6 November 1972 Session of Superior Court held in Surry County.\nIndictment for kidnapping. Defendant pled not guilty. The State\u2019s evidence showed: Sometime after midnight on 6 July 1972 the prosecuting witness was alone in a laundromat in Mt. Airy, engaged in washing clothes. She did not know and had never previously seen the defendant. Defendant came in, drew a knife, and held it to her back or side. He seized her arm, and over her protest took her outside and placed her in a car. The car was not parked on the parking area provided for the laundromat but was on a nearby premises. Defendant also got in the car and attempted to force the prosecuting witness to become sexually intimate with him. While defendant was so engaged, a city police car drove up. Defendant started his car and drove rapidly away, taking the prosecuting witness with him. A high-speed chase ensued, joined in by cars of other officers. At times the defendant drove at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour while traveling southward in the face of oncoming traffic in the northbound lanes of a divided dual-lane highway. Defendant\u2019s car finally stopped when its engine died after defendant had pulled off on a dirt road. He was immediately arrested by a pursuing officer.\nDefendant did not introduce evidence. The jury found him guilty. From judgment imposing a prison sentence, defendant gave notice of appeal. To permit perfection of the appeal, this Court granted petition for certiorari.\nAttorney General Robert Morgan by Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Webb for the State.\nRodenbough & Price by Ronald M. Price; and Price, Osborne, Johnson & Blackwell by D. Floyd Osborne for defendant a-ppellant."
  },
  "file_name": "0291-01",
  "first_page_order": 315,
  "last_page_order": 317
}