State v. Thomas

FRYE, Justice.

On 23 June 1986, defendant James Edward Thomas was indicted for murder and first-degree sexual offense. At the 6 July 1987 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Wake County, he was tried capitally to a jury, found guilty, and sentenced to death for the first-degree murder conviction and to a consecutive term of life imprisonment for the sexual offense conviction. On appeal, this Court ordered a new capital sentencing proceeding on the first-degree murder conviction based on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433, 108 L. Ed. 2d 369…