State v. Sweat

HUNTER, JR., Robert N., Judge,

dissenting.

In North Carolina, “an extrajudicial confession, standing alone, is not sufficient to sustain a conviction of a crime.” State v. Parker, 315 N.C. 222, 229, 337 S.E.2d 487, 491 (1985). Rather, when the State lacks independent proof of the “body of the crime” — the corpus delicti— and relies upon an extra-judicial confession, additional corroborative evidence that establishes the trustworthiness of the confession is required to sustain a conviction. Id. at 236, 337 S.E.2d at 495. While jurisdictions vary on the quality and extent of corroborative…