State v. Daniel

EXUM, Chief Justice.

Defendant pled guilty to murdering her newborn child. The sentence imposed, life imprisonment, is in excess of the presumptive sentence for second degree murder, which is fifteen years’ imprisonment. N.C.G.S. §§ 15A-1340.4(f) (1983), 14-17 (1986). The first question presented is whether the trial court erred in finding as aggravating factors that the victim was very young and that defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence. The second question presented is whether the trial court erred in failing to find as a mitigating factor that defendant voluntarily…