State v. Jones

HUSKINS, Justice.

Defendant moved to quash the bill of indictment on the ground that G.S. 14-17 is unconstitutional. Denial of the motion constitutes his first assignment of error.

While the constitutionality of a statute under which a defendant is prosecuted may be challenged by a motion to quash, State v. Fredell, 283 N.C. 242, 195 S.E. 2d 300 (1973); State v. Atlas, 283 N.C. 165, 195 S.E. 2d 496 (1973), the motion in this case is merely an extension of the argument that the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment proscribed by the Eighth Amendment to the Federal Constitution.

Ar…