N.C.P.I.—Crim. 206.12

NOTE WELL: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 15-176.4; 15A-

2000(a): When the defendant is indicted for first

degree murder the court shall, upon request by either

party, instruct the jury as follows:

"In the event that the defendant is convicted of murder

in the first degree, the court will conduct a separate

sentencing proceeding to determine whether the

defendant should be sentenced to death or life

imprisonment (without parole).1 If that time comes,

you will receive separate sentencing instructions.

However, at this time your only concern is to determine

whether the defendant is guilty of the crime charged or

any lesser included offenses about which you are

instructed."2

The defendant has been charged with first degree murder by means

of poison.

Now I charge that for you to find the defendant guilty of first

degree murder by means of poison, the State must prove two things

beyond a reasonable doubt:

First, that the defendant intentionally caused a substance known to

defendant to be poison to be placed into or to enter the body of the

victim. Poison is a substance which is likely to cause death (by a

chemical reaction) when placed into or caused to enter the body of a

human being.3

Intent is a mental attitude which is seldom provable by direct

evidence. It must ordinarily be proved by circumstances from which it

may be inferred. You arrive at the intent of a person by such just and

reasonable deductions from the circumstances proven as a reasonably

prudent person would ordinarily draw therefrom.4

And Second, the State must prove that the poisoning was a

proximate cause of the victim's death. A proximate cause is a real cause,

a cause without which the victim's death would not have occurred.5

If you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or

about the alleged date the defendant intentionally administered a

substance known to defendant to be poison to the victim, thereby

proximately causing the victim's death, it would be your duty to return a

verdict of guilty of first degree murder by means of poison. If you do not

so find or have a reasonable doubt as to one or more of these things, you

will not return a verdict of guilty of first degree murder by means of

poison, but must determine whether the defendant is guilty of involuntary

manslaughter.6

Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of a human

being by an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or by an act done in

a criminally negligent way.

For you to find the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter,

the State must prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt:

First, that the defendant acted a. [unlawfully] (or) b. [in a

criminally negligent way] in administering poison to the victim. a. [The

defendant's act was unlawful if (describe alleged violation).] b. [Criminal

negligence is more than mere carelessness. The defendant's act was

criminally negligent, if, judging by reasonable foresight, it was done with

such gross recklessness or carelessness as to amount to a heedless

indifference to the safety and rights of others.]

And Second, the State must prove that this [unlawful] (or)

[criminally negligent] act proximately caused the victim's death. A

proximate cause is a real cause, a cause without which the victim’s death

would not have occurred, and one that a reasonably careful and prudent

person could foresee would probably produce such [injury] [damage] or

some similar injurious result. (The defendant’s act need not have been

the only cause, nor the last or nearest cause. It is sufficient if it occurred

with some other cause acting at the same time, which in combination

with, caused the death of the victim.) (A child has been killed if the child

was born alive, but died as a result of injuries inflicted prior to being born

alive.)7

(If the victim died by accident or misadventure, that is, without

wrongful purpose or criminal negligence on the part of the defendant, the

defendant would not be guilty. The burden of proving accident is not on

the defendant. The defendant’s assertion of accident is merely a denial

that the defendant has committed any crime. The burden remains on the

State to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.)

If you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or

about the alleged date the defendant [unlawfully] (or) [in a criminally

negligent way] administered poison to the victim, thereby proximately

causing the victim's death, it would be your duty to return a verdict of

guilty of involuntary manslaughter. If you do not so find or have a

reasonable doubt as to one or more of these things, it would be your duty

to return a verdict of not guilty.