State v. McArthur

GEER, Judge.

Defendant Charles A. McArthur appeals from his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with the intent to kill. Our Supreme Court has repeatedly awarded a new trial when, as here, the trial court instructed the jury that it must return a verdict of not guilty upon a determination that defendant acted in self-defense, but failed to specifically instruct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty if it concluded the State failed to prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g., State v. Dallas, 253 N.C. 568, 569, 117 S.E.2d 415,…