State v. Boyd

EXUM, Chief Justice.

Defendant was indicted in separate bills dated 16 May 1988 for the murders of his estranged wife and her father on 4 March 1988. In a capital trial the jury returned verdicts of guilty as charged. After a sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended, and the trial court accordingly entered, a sentence of death for each murder.

There are two assignments of error which merit discussion. The first relates to the trial court’s excusing a juror from service at defendant’s trial during the jury selection process and deferring her for service at a later session after a private,…