State v. Boyd

EXUM, Justice.

I

Defendant’s first four assignments of error relate to the selection of the jury. He contends that the State should not have been permitted to question prospective jurors about their beliefs on capital punishment. The argument is without merit. We continue to believe as we said in State v. Crowder, 285 N.C. 42, 46, 203 S.E. 2d 38, 41 (1974) :

“In order to insure a fair trial before an unbiased jury, it is entirely proper in a capital case for both the State and the defendant to make appropriate inquiry concerning a prospective juror’s moral or religious scruples, beliefs, and…