Abstract:
When the 1973 North Carolina General Assembly convened in January it was faced with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised doubts about the constitutionality of North Carolina's capital punishment statutes. The problem lay in allowing juries discretion to choose between life imprisonment and death for the same crime. Ultimately, the jury's option to recommend life imprisonment was removed, leaving mandatory death penalties for first-degree murder, arson, rape, and first-degree burglary.