State v. Gillespie

BRADY, Justice.

Defendant Marion Preston Gillespie was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Linda Faye Patterson Smith and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The sole issue before this Court is whether the trial court exceeded its authority under N.C.G.S. § 15A-910 in its order sanctioning defendant by excluding the testimony of two of defendant’s mental health experts. We hold that it did and in so doing modify and affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals awarding defendant a new trial.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. The Murder

In the early morning hours of 15 June…