State v. Payne

MITCHELL, Justice.

The defendant, Philip Reid Payne, Jr., was tried at the 30 May 1989 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Burke County, upon a true bill of indictment charging him with the murder of his wife, Pamela B. Payne. The jury found the defendant guilty of first-degree murder based upon the theory that the killing was premeditated and deliberate. At the conclusion of a separate sentencing proceeding under N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal the defendant brings forward several assignments of error. We conclude that the defendant received a…