Case Summary — State v. Richardson, No. 272A14 (N.C. Sept. 1, 2023).

Presented with an appalling set of facts, the North Carolina Supreme Court unanimously upheld the defendant’s convictions for murder, kidnapping, sex offense, and felony child abuse.  The majority affirmed a sentence of death.  Justice Berger’s concurring opinion, addressing only a Miranda issue, was joined by four other justices, making it “the supplemental opinion of the Court.”  Justice Earls dissented with regard to capital punishment, concluding the defendant was entitled to a new sentencing hearing.  This post summarizes the 225-page opinion in Richardson.

Over a period of ten days, the defendant sexually assaulted and severely abused a young girl, designated “Taylor,” who was left in his care when her mother (the defendant’s girlfriend) left the state for military training.  On 16 July 2010, the defendant carried Taylor into the emergency room of Johnston Memorial Hospital.  Seasoned ER staff were shocked at the extent of the child’s injuries.  When the defendant attempted to leave, a nurse forcibly detained him, put him into an exam room, and stood in the doorway until police arrived.  Two police officers questioned the defendant at the hospital.  He told them he was caring for Taylor while her mother was away, that Tayor had fallen and struck her head the night before, that bite marks had been inflicted by another child, and that Taylor’s other wounds were the result of Taylor scratching herself.  Taylor died 19 July 2010, shortly after her fourth birthday.  The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

A. Motion to disqualify the trial court judge.

The defendant first argued the trial court erred by denying his motion to disqualify superior court judge Thomas H. Lock from involvement in the case.  Back in 1992, Judge Lock was the elected district attorney in (then) District 11 and the prosecutor in the trial of the defendant’s mother on charges that she hired someone to kill the defendant’s father.  Based on this, the defendant here filed a motion to disqualify Judge Lock from presiding at his trial.  Judge Lock referred the motion to another judge, James Floyd Ammons, Jr., who denied it.  Before the Supreme Court, the defendant argued Judge Ammons erred by denying the motion, contending Judge Lock’s involvement in the prior case: (1) made him a potential witness for the defense, and (2) created an appearance and risk of bias in the defendant’s murder trial.  Slip Op. at 25.  The Court disagreed.