State v. Canady
| Decision Date | 07 March 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 115A00.,115A00. |
| Citation | 559 S.E.2d 762 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Carlos CANADY. |
Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Joan M. Cunningham, Assistant Attorney General, and William P. Hart, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State.
Center for Death Penalty Litigation, by Jonathan E. Broun, Durham, for defendant-appellant.
On 3 March 1997, Carlos Canady (defendant) was indicted for the murders of Hiram and Michael Burns, one count of second-degree burglary, one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Defendant was tried capitally, and the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder of Hiram Burns on a theory of lying in wait and guilty of first-degree murder of Michael Burns under the felony murder rule. Defendant was also found guilty of the other charges. In the death of Hiram Burns, the jury recommended and the trial judge sentenced defendant to death. In the death of Michael Burns, the jury recommended and the trial judge sentenced defendant to life imprisonment. The jury also found defendant guilty of the remaining charges, and the trial court sentenced defendant to consecutive terms of imprisonment.
Evidence presented at trial showed Hiram Burns (Hiram) and his son, Michael Burns (Michael), lived in Rennert, North Carolina. Michael had severe brain damage. On Sunday, 13 December 1992, the victims' dead bodies were found in their home. Each had died from gunshot wounds.
In 1996, an inmate at Pender County Correctional Unit told police defendant and a young man, eventually identified as Lacoma Locklear (Lacoma), were involved in the murders. Lacoma, who was only fourteen years old in 1992, testified that on 12 December 1992 he and defendant went to Rennert because defendant said he knew a man who ran a store there and they could rob the man. Lacoma said he and defendant entered the man's house through a window. Defendant was carrying a rifle. A few minutes later, a man entered the house, and Lacoma heard three shots from the bathroom where defendant was. The man fell to the floor, and Lacoma heard two more shots. Lacoma stated that after the shooting defendant grabbed a brown paper bag from the man on the floor, and Lacoma and defendant ran out the front door. The bag fell and tore, and Lacoma could see it contained money. Lacoma stated defendant threw the rifle off the Kirby Bridge. Investigators subsequently found a Universal .30 caliber Carbine semiautomatic rifle near the Kirby Bridge in the Lumber River at the point Lacoma indicated.
Defendant presented evidence that Lacoma told several people he and defendant did not kill the Burnses. Lacoma said, among other things, "Me and Carlos ain't killed nobody," and "We hadn't done a thing." Two witnesses, Steve Jones (Steve) and Paladin Jones (Paladin), testified Billy Ray Jones (Billy Ray) told them he killed the Burnses. Steve testified Billy Ray told him details of the crime including who helped him, how they got in the window, and that Hiram had a money bag in his hands when he entered the house. Paladin testified that he heard Billy Ray describe details of the murders and that Billy Ray went to Paladin's house the night before the murders took place to borrow a gun which Paladin refused to lend. On rebuttal, the State called Billy Ray, who denied committing the murders.
Defendant assigns error to several of the trial court's rulings. We agree with defendant that the trial court's rulings on at least four specific issues were erroneous. Although none of the trial court's errors, when considered in isolation, were necessarily sufficiently prejudicial to require a new trial, the cumulative effect of the errors created sufficient prejudice to deny defendant a fair trial. Accordingly, a new trial is required.
First, defendant assigns error to the trial court's allowance of testimony from Detective James Carter concerning information he received from a prison inmate about the murders. Carter testified his investigation included an interview with prison inmate George Blackwell. According to Carter, Blackwell said another inmate, Woody Butler, told Blackwell defendant and another young man killed the victims. Defendant argued at trial this testimony constituted inadmissible hearsay because it was offered for "the truth of the matter asserted." The State argued the testimony was not offered for its truth, but to show the witness's conduct after he received the information. The trial court overruled defendant's objection and instructed the jury as follows:
Following the trial court's instruction, Carter testified before the jury under direct examination by the State as follows:
At this point, outside the jury's presence, defendant argued Carter's testimony was irrelevant and was merely an attempt to get before the jury inadmissible hearsay and to avoid putting George Blackwell or Woody Butler on the stand. Defendant also argued Carter's testimony was double or triple hearsay, and its prejudicial effects far outweighed any probative value. Defendant further argued Carter could explain his subsequent conduct without going into the details of Blackwell's statement. The trial court overruled defendant's objection, and the State's examination continued in the jury's presence:
The State correctly asserts a statement is not hearsay if it is offered for a purpose other than to prove the truth of the matter asserted. See N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 801(c) (1999); State v. Braxton, 352 N.C. 158, 190, 531 S.E.2d 428, 447 (2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1130, 121 S.Ct. 890, 148 L.Ed.2d 797 (2001). A statement which explains a person's subsequent conduct is an example of such admissible nonhearsay. State v. Anthony, 354 N.C. 372, 404, 555 S.E .2d 557, 579 (2001); State v. Golphin, 352 N.C. 364, 440, 533 S.E.2d 168, 219 (2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 931, 121 S.Ct. 1379, 149 L.Ed.2d 305 (2001).
In the present case, however, Detective Carter's testimony provided more than a mere explanation of his subsequent actions. Carter provided details contained in Blackwell's statement including how defendant broke into the victims' house through a window, went into the bathroom with a rifle, shot one of the victims, and fled with a bag of money. Moreover, the State relied upon Carter's recitation of Blackwell's detailed statement during the State's closing argument. The State argued:
This portion of the State's closing argument confirms that ...
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State v. Corbett
...or "taken as a whole, deprived defendant of his due process right to a fair trial free from prejudicial error." State v. Canady , 355 N.C. 242, 254, 559 S.E.2d 762 (2002). Thus, even if we conclude that one evidentiary error, standing alone, is not itself prejudicial, we are still required ......
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State v. Wilkerson
...as a whole" they "deprived [the] defendant of his due process right to a fair trial free from prejudicial error." State v. Canady, 355 N.C. 242, 254, 559 S.E.2d 762, 768 (2002). Although defendant has contended to this Court that numerous errors were made during trial, we have found error o......
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State v. Corbett
...free from prejudicial error.’ " State v. Wilkerson , 363 N.C. 382, 426, 683 S.E.2d 174, 201 (2009) (quoting State v. Canady , 355 N.C. 242, 254, 559 S.E.2d 762, 768 (2002) ). Although Tom has contended to this Court that numerous errors were made during trial, I have found only one instance......
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State Carolina v. Roy Lee Elkins.
...Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478, 98 S.Ct. 1930, 56 L.Ed.2d 468 (1978), State v. White, 331 N.C. 604, 419 S.E.2d 557 (1992), and State v. Canady, 355 N.C. 242, 559 S.E.2d 762 (2002), for the proposition that the cumulative effect of the potentially damaging and erroneous admissions of evidence violat......