{ "id": 8629425, "name": "STATE v. CHARLES GONZAGA STREETON", "name_abbreviation": "State v. Streeton", "decision_date": "1949-12-14", "docket_number": "", "first_page": "301", "last_page": "306", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "231 N.C. 301" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C.", "id": 9292, "name": "Supreme Court of North Carolina" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "23 S.E. 337", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "117 N.C. 834", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8654160 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/117/0834-01" ] }, { "cite": "81 S.E. 620", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "166 N.C. 333", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11269618 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/166/0333-01" ] }, { "cite": "107 S.E. 438", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "181 N.C. 590", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8658006 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/181/0590-01" ] }, { "cite": "156 S.E. 96", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "200 N.C. 18", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8614056 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/200/0018-01" ] }, { "cite": "162 S.E. 764", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "202 N.C. 351", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8626291 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/202/0351-01" ] }, { "cite": "164 S.E. 352", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "202 N.C. 782", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8628847 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/202/0782-01" ] }, { "cite": "169 S.E. 705", 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"opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/208/0068-01" ] }, { "cite": "194 S.E. 470", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "212 N.C. 739", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8619211 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/212/0739-01" ] }, { "cite": "195 S.E. 7", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "213 N.C. 16", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8626257 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/213/0016-01" ] }, { "cite": "3 S.E. 2d 11", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "215 N.C. 713", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8631711 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/215/0713-01" ] }, { "cite": "5 S.E. 2d 314", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "216 N.C. 446", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8604960 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/216/0446-01" ] }, { "cite": "6 S.E. 2d 533", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "216 N.C. 627", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8611265 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/216/0627-01" ] }, { "cite": "14 S.E. 2d 522", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "219 N.C. 514", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8625033 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/219/0514-01" ] }, { "cite": "32 S.E. 2d 352", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "224 N.C. 722", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8613378 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/224/0722-01" ] }, { "cite": "35 S.E. 2d 494", "category": 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"opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/228/0720-01" ] }, { "cite": "20 S.E. 2d 313", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "221 N.C. 278", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8627506, 8627540 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/221/0278-01", "/nc/221/0278-02" ] }, { "cite": "199 N.W. 373", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.W.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "227 Mich. 562", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Mich.", "case_ids": [ 1688949 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/mich/227/0562-01" ] }, { "cite": "53 L.R.A. 245", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L.R.A.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "63 S.W. 976", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.W.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "61 S.W. 735", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.W.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "110 Ky. 386", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ky.", "case_ids": [ 2353400 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ky/110/0386-01" ] }, { "cite": "178 N.E. 892", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "346 Ill. 398", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "case_ids": [ 5266029 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill/346/0398-01" ] }, { "cite": "1 N.C. 191", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "9 N.C. 454", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11276857 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/9/0454-01" ] }, { "cite": "18 N.C. 121", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8686673 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/18/0121-01" ] }, { "cite": "35 Am. D. 742", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "Am. Dec.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "23 N.C. 354", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2104286 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/23/0354-01" ] }, { "cite": "42 S.E. 836", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "131 N.C. 733", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8662869 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/131/0733-01" ] }, { "cite": "44 S.E. 391", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "132 N.C. 1069", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8662895 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/132/1069-01" ] }, { "cite": "57 S.E. 174", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "143 N.C. 652", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8658695 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/143/0652-01" ] }, { "cite": "101 S.E. 548", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "178 N.C. 779", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 11274365 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/178/0779-01" ] }, { "cite": "42 A.L.R. 1114", "category": "reporters:specialty", "reporter": "A.L.R.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "130 S.E. 627", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "190 N.C. 674", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8612540 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/190/0674-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 976, "char_count": 15448, "ocr_confidence": 0.494, "pagerank": { "raw": 2.0368452356806228e-07, "percentile": 0.7472875831756987 }, "sha256": "c6cad703481360d9c4e230d0c42e175b92c275a7694127331bad8c9b79b9cca3", "simhash": "1:17713cbbbce196da", "word_count": 2674 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T22:38:15.383158+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "STATE v. CHARLES GONZAGA STREETON." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "Ervin, J.\nThe prisoner reserved exceptions to various parts of the charge in which the trial judge instructed the petit jury in specific detail that it would return a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree in the event it found beyond a reasonable doubt from the testimony that the prisoner undertook by force or violence to kidnap the deceased or to hold him for ransom and thereby unintentionally caused his death. It is manifest that the facts and circumstances adduced by the State at the trial were sufficient to warrant a finding that the deceased met death in \u2018the manner indicated in these instructions. Hence, the exceptions now under review raise the question as to whether these portions of the charge :em,body a principle recognized as valid by the law of homicide.\nIt is to be noted that G.S. 14-39 makes it a felony for any person \u201cto kidnap . . . any human being ... or to hold any human being for ransom.\u201d\nMurder is not divided into degrees at common law, any unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought, either express or implied, being murder. S. v. Trott, 190 N.C. 674, 130 S.E. 627; 42 A.L.R. 1114; S. v. Dalton, 178 N.C. 779, 101 S.E. 548; S. v. Banks, 143 N.C. 652, 57 S.E. 174; S. v. Cole, 132 N.C. 1069, 44 S.E. 391; S. v. Bishop, 131 N.C. 733, 42 S.E. 836; S. v. Johnson, 23 N.C. 354, 35 Am. D. 742; S. v. Negro Will, 18 N.C. 121; S. v. Reed, 9 N.C. 454; S. v. Boon, 1 N.C. 191.\nMalice aforethought is implied at common law in homicides where the slayer kills another while engaged in committing or attempting to commit a felony, and consequently such a killing constitutes murder, whether the death b\u00e9 intended or not. 26 Am. Jur., Homicide, section 195; 40 C.J.S., Homicide, section 21; Warren: Homicide (Perm. Ed.), section 74. The rule applies to felonies created by statute as well as to common law felonies. Brill: Cyclopedia of Criminal Law, section 633; Burdick: The Law of Crime, section 454. It bas been suggested, however, tbat tbe rule should be confined to homicides committed in the perpetration of felonious acts haying a natural tendency to cause death. Regina v. Serne, 16 Cox C. C. 311; People v. Goldvarg, 346 Ill. 398, 178 N.E. 892; Powers v. Commonwealth, 110 Ky. 386, 61 S.W. 735; 63 S.W. 976, 53 L.R.A. 245; People v. Pavlic, 227 Mich. 562, 199 N.W. 373; Holmes: The Common Law, 57-59; Burdick: The Law of Crime, section 454. Such limitation may be implicit in the undoubted requirement that the homicide must be a natural and reasonable consequence of the felony being perpetrated. 40 C.J.S., Homicide, section 21; Burdick: The Law of Crime, section 454.\nThe General Assembly of 1893 adopted the statute now embodied in G.S. 14-17, dividing murder into two degrees. This statute does not give any new definition of murder, but permits that to remain as it was at common law. The enactment simply selects out of all murders denounced by the common law those deemed more heinous on account of the mode of their perpetration; classifies them as murder in the first degree; and provides a greater punishment for them than that prescribed for \u201call other kinds of murder,\u201d which it denominates murder in the second degree. S. v. Smith, 221 N.C. 278, 20 S.E. 2d 313; S. v. Dalton, supra.\nThe Legislature regarded the felony-murder sufficiently atrocious to be included in the category of first degree murder. For this reason, the statute now codified as G.S. 14-17 contains this provision: \u201cA murder . . . which shall be committed in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate any arson, rape, robbery, burglary or other felony shall be deemed to be murder in the first degree.\u201d\nIt is evident that under this statute a homicide is murder in the first degree if it results from the commission oi1' attempted commission of one of the four specified felonies or of any other felony inherently dangerous to life, without regard to whether the death be intended or not.\nThere are now many statutory felonies which have no natural tendency to cause death and by reason thereof are much less serious crimes than the common law felonies giving rise to the felony-murder rule. We express no opinion, however, as to whether the words \u201cother felony\u201d as used in the statute mean any statutory felony, or are limited under the ejusdem generis principle to felonies dangerous to life. No such question is raised by the present record.\nThe statutory provision declaring a felony-murder to be murder in the first degree has been applied many times to homicides resulting from the commission or attempted commission of arson (S. v. Anderson, 228 N.C. 720, 47 S.E. 2d 1); burglary (S. v. Bell, 205 N.C. 225, 171 S.E. 50); rape (S. v. King, 226 N.C. 241, 37 S.E. 2d 684; S. v. Mays, 225 N.C. 486, 35 S.E. 2d 494); and robbery (S. v. Biggs, 224 N.C. 722, 32 S.E. 2d 352; S. v. Miller, 219 N.C. 514, 14 S.E. 2d 522; S. v. Kelly, 216 N.C. 627, 6 S.E. 2d 533; S. v. Williams, 216 N.C. 446, 5 S.E. 2d 314; S. v. Alston, 215 N.C. 713, 3 S.E. 2d 11; S. v. Exum, 213 N.C. 16, 195 S.E. 7; S. v. Linney, 212 N.C. 739, 194 S.E. 470; S. v. Glover, 208 N.C. 68, 179 S.E. 6; S. v. Green, 207 N.C. 369, 177 S.E. 120; S. v. Stefanoff, 206 N.C. 443, 174 S.E. 411; S. v. Langley, 204 N.C. 687, 169 S.E. 705; S. v. Donnell, 202 N.C. 782, 164 S.E. 352; S. v. Myers, 202 N.C. 351, 162 S.E. 764; S. v. Sterling, 200 N.C. 18, 156 S.E. 96; S. v. Westmoreland, 181 N.C. 590, 107 S.E. 438; S. v. Lane, 166 N.C. 333, 81 S.E. 620.)\nTbe occasion for invoking the felony-murder rule ordinarily arises in homicides resulting from the perpetration or attempted perpetration of the four felonies specifically named in the statute, i.e., arson, burglary, rape and robbery. This is necessarily true because these four offenses are so highly perilous to life. But this Court has declared that under the statute \u201cmurder committed in the perpetration of a felony is now murder in the first degree,\u201d and has sanctioned the application of this doctrine to a homicide resulting from an attempt to perpetrate an unspecified felony, i.e., a'larceny, under circumstances dangerous to life. S. v. Covington, 117 N.C. 834, 23 S.E. 337.\nWhen a person undertakes by force or violence to kidnap another or to hold him for ransom contrary to G.S. 14^39, he commits or attempts to commit a felony which has a natural tendency to cause death.\nIt follows, therefore, that the instructions now under review properly state a settled principle prevailing in the law of homicide.\nWe have considered the other assignments of error with extreme care, and have reached the deliberate conclusion that none of them can be sustained. We omit further discussion, however, for the reason that the remaining exceptions merely relate to the application of established legal rules to the case at bar.\nThe prisoner was unable to retain counsel on account of his poverty, and the attorneys who defended him were assigned that important task by the court. We deem it not amiss to observe in closing that they have performed their duty in the premises in accord with the highest tradition of their profession.\nThe trial and the judgment will be upheld for there is in law\nNo error.", "type": "majority", "author": "Ervin, J." } ], "attorneys": [ "Attorney-General McMullan and Assistant Attorney-General Bruton for the State.", "C. A. York, Sr., and C. A. York, Jr., for the prisoner, appellant." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "STATE v. CHARLES GONZAGA STREETON.\n(Filed 14 December, 1949.)\n1. Homicide \u00a7 4d\u2014\nA murder committed in the perpetration or attempted commission of the felony of kidnapping or holding a human being for ransom, G.S. 14-39, constitutes murder in the first degree, G.S. 14-17, and an instruction to this effect upon supporting evidence cannot be held for error. ' '\n2. Homicide \u00a7 lb\u2014\n\u25a0 G.S. 14-17 does not change the- common law definition of murder but merely, divides murder as defined by the common law into two degrees.\nAppeal by the prisoner from Patton, Special Judge, and a jury, .at the. July. Term, 1949, of Guileobd.\n\u25a0 The- prisoner was indicted for the murder of Carl Davis. The testimony for the State disclosed the matters set forth below. . . ...\nThe deceased, Carl Davis, was the-crippled son of McKinley Davis,;,a coal and ice dealer in High Point. He and the prisoner, Charles Gonzaga Streeton, had married sisters. In March, T949, however, Carl Davis, and his. wife-were separated. He was then-residing in the household of .his parents .in. High Point. .....\nAt 7 o\u2019clock p.m. on Monday, 14-March, 1949, Streeton borrowed a 38-caliber pistol and five cartridges of like diameter from \u2022 the -State\u2019s witness, Lloyd Portee, for the avowed purpose of protecting himself 4un-i-ng a proposed trip-to the Virginia mountains. On the following day, i.e., at 5 :00 o\u2019clock p.m. on Tuesday, 15 March, 1949, Streeton returned the pistol and four 38-ealiber cartridges to Portee.- The-ev.iden.ce-doe.snoi \u25a0reveal whether the pistol had been freshly fired or cleaned when- Streeton delivered it to Portee. -... .\u25a0 \u2022' -\u00a1 . - .\n\u2022 Meanwhile; the events depicted in the next four paragraphs transpired;.\nWitnesses for the State saw a gray Mercury Sedan owned by Carl Davis and a green Studebaker car belonging to Streeton standing beside the' College Grill, a cafe near the eastern edge of High Point, from 8 :00 p.m. until 9 :30 p.m. on Monday, 14 March, 1949. Carl Davis and Streeton spent this time in the Mercury automobile, talking, eating and drinking-beer together. This was the last time that Carl Davis was seen aliv.e by any of the witnesses. The evidence does not indicate directly how or when the prisoner, or the deceased, or the motor ears left this spot.\nAt 10 :30 p.m. on the same night, a taxi driver named Eoy Hunt picked up a fare in the neighborhood in which the Mercury car was afterwards found, and transported him to a place near the College Grill, where he alighted and proceeded on foot towards the College Grill. Hunt did not identify his passenger as the prisoner, but he described his size and clothing. The description tallied with that of Streeton as given by other witnesses who saw him earlier in the evening.\nShortly after midnight, John H. McAdoo, Jr., a policeman of Greensboro, saw Streeton near the telephone booths in the Union Pus Terminal at Greensboro, and noted that Streeton was observing him \u201cvery carefully.\u201d About this time, to wit, at 12 :20 a.m. on Tuesday, 15 March, 1949, Mrs. Eosa Tillman, a telephone operator on duty in Greensboro, took a long distance call, which originated in a booth at the Union Bus Station in Greensboro, for the phone in the residence of the parents of the deceased in High Point. According to McKinley Davis, his telephone rang \u201caround 12 :30 or 12 :35\u201d a.m. on Tuesday, 15 March, 1949; and it was answered by his wife, who had an undisclosed conversation with some person not identified.\nIn consequence of this conversation, Mr. and Mrs. McKinley Davis went forthwith to the police station in High Point, where they reported the disappearance of Carl Davis and-the phone conversation to the police, who cautioned them to keep these matters secret until the mystery surrounding the vanishing of their son should be solved. Pursuant to this admonition, Mr. and Mrs. McKinley Davis withheld these matters from the press and public. Immediately after their visit to the police station, the empty Mercury Sedan of the deceased was discovered by policemen in \u00e1 vacant lot \u201cin the 1500 block of North Main Street\u201d in High Point.\n\u25a0At 8 :45 p.m. on Tuesday, 16 March, 1949, the telephone in the Davis home rang again. It was answered by McKinley Davis, who had an Undisclosed colloquy with some man whose voice he could not identify. He had \u201cnever talked to Charles Streeton on the phone.\u201d McKinley Davis immediately reported the phone conversation to his son-in-law, Wilber J. Alexander, who was present and who forthwith dashed onto the front lawn, where he found a handkerchief \u201cwith a rock and a note tied up in it.\u201d The note was as follows: \u201cNo marked money. Have you got money. 5000. If so put in bag.. Leave at 9 :30 P. M; at Hieway-Cafe mail box or be wont be safe. If got money be will be borne in 10 brs OK. If you get me, tbey get Carl.. Hieway Cafe at Maryfield Hospital Jamestown.\u201d Tbe note was penciled in printed capitals.\nAssisted by police officers, McKinley Davis proceeded without delay to a point on tbe High Point-Jamestown Highway near tbe Maryfield Convalescent Home, where be put a paper-filled money bag in a mail box lettered \u201cHighway Cafe.\u201d This box was shadowed by heavy shrubbery, stood in front of what was then a vacant bouse, and was located \u201cabout five or six city blocks\u201d from tbe place where tbe prisoner resided.\nAt 11:15 p.m. on tbe same night,- Streeton drove to tbe \u201cHighway Cafe\u201d mail box in bis Studebaker car, alighted, and opened tbe mail box with bis right band, which was infolded in a white cloth. He was thereupon arrested by police officers, who had been hiding nearby and who conveyed him to the police station in High Point.\nAccording to W. T. Highfill, a policeman, this colloquy took place between him and Streeton as soon as they reached the police station.; \u201cI said: 'You know what we have you here for, and we want to know where that boy is.\u2019 He said: \u2018I don\u2019t know where Carl is.\u2019 At the time Charles Streeton said that, Carl Davis\u2019 name had not been mentioned. Nothirig had appeared in the newspapers at that time that Carl Davis -was missing.\u201d\nAt 8 :00 p.m. on Wednesday, 16 March, 1949, Streeton made a statement \u201cwith reference to the location of the body of the deceased, Carl Davis.\u201d In consequence thereof, the corpse of Carl Davis was' found under a bridge which spanned a small watercourse in an isolated spot On the campus of High Point College. An autopsy revealed that death had resulted from a 38-caliber bullet, which entered the back of the deceased and left powder burns on both the clothing and the flesh at the.point tif entrance. The physicians, who performed the autopsy, express\u00e9d' no opinions as to the time of occurrence of death, and no effort was made to show that the bullet, which was recovered, had been fired from the pistol which Portee had loaned Streeton.\nOn Friday, 18 March, 1949, Streeton\u2019s wife visited the jail and asked him this question in the presence of certain of the State\u2019s witnesses: \u201cWhy did you kill Carl?\u201d He replied; \u201cYou know how bad we needed money.\u201d.. Sometime later on the same occasion Streeton told his wife in the presence of the same witnesses that \u201che killed C.al\u2019l because Carchad made a slighting remark\u201d about.her.. \u25a0 \u25a0\nThe only evidence- offered in behalf of-the1 prisoner was medical testimony indicating that he had been afflicted by mental instability ;fpr $om,e years.- \u201d \u2022' \u25a0 ' - \u25a0 \u2022 \u2022 - '\n\u25a0 The trial judge instructed the jury that it could return any one of five different Verdicts, to wit: (1) Guilty of murder in the first degree; (2) guilty of murder in the first degree with recommendation that the punishment be imprisonment for life in the State\u2019s prison; (3) guilty of murder in the second degree; (4) guilty of manslaughter; and (5) not guilty.\nThe jury found the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree and recommended that his punishment be imprisonment for life in the State\u2019s prison in conformity to G.S. 14-17 as rewritten by chapter 299 of the 1949- Session Laws, and the court entered judgment accordingly. The prisoner \u00e9xcepted and appealed, assigning as error the receipt of certain testimony and specified excerpts from the charge.\nAttorney-General McMullan and Assistant Attorney-General Bruton for the State.\nC. A. York, Sr., and C. A. York, Jr., for the prisoner, appellant." }, "file_name": "0301-01", "first_page_order": 351, "last_page_order": 356 }