North Carolina § 15A-2001 Capital offenses; plea of guilty

North Carolina Statutes

§ 15A-2001 — Capital offenses; plea of guilty

North Carolina § 15A-2001

Ch. 15ACriminal Procedure Act

Art. 100Capital Punishment

This text of North Carolina § 15A-2001 (Capital offenses; plea of guilty) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-2001 (2026).

Text

(a)Any defendant who has been indicted for an offense punishable by death may enter a plea of guilty at any time after the indictment.

(b)If the defendant enters a guilty plea to first degree murder and the State has not given notice of intent to seek the death penalty as provided in G.S. 15A-2004 or the State has agreed to accept a sentence of life imprisonment where it initially gave notice of intent to seek the death penalty, then the court shall sentence the person to life imprisonment. The defendant may plead guilty to first degree murder and the State may agree to accept a sentence of life imprisonment, even if evidence of an aggravating circumstance exists.

(c)If the defendant enters a guilty plea to first degree murder and the State has given notice of its intent to seek the dea

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(a) Any defendant who has been indicted for an offense punishable by death may enter a plea of guilty at any time after the indictment.
(b) If the defendant enters a guilty plea to first degree murder and the State has not given notice of intent to seek the death penalty as provided in G.S. 15A-2004 or the State has agreed to accept a sentence of life imprisonment where it initially gave notice of intent to seek the death penalty, then the court shall sentence the person to life imprisonment. The defendant may plead guilty to first degree murder and the State may agree to accept a sentence of life imprisonment, even if evidence of an aggravating circumstance exists.
(c) If the defendant enters a guilty plea to first degree murder and the State has given notice of its intent to seek the death penalty, then the court may sentence the defendant to life imprisonment or to death pursuant to the procedures of G.S. 15A-2000. Before sentencing the defendant in a case in which the State has given notice of its intent to seek the death penalty, the presiding judge shall impanel a jury for the limited purpose of hearing evidence and determining a sentence recommendation as to the appropriate sentence pursuant to G.S. 15A-2000. The jury's sentence recommendation in cases where the defendant pleads guilty and the State has given notice of its intent to seek the death penalty shall be determined under the same procedure of G.S. 15A-2000 applicable to defendants who have been tried and found guilty by a jury. (1977, c. 406, s. 2; 2001-81, s. 2.)