Summary:

Wesley Adams Jr., a Captain in the United States Air Force, and his family were visiting his father, Wesley Adams Sr., and his stepmother, Mildred Adams, at their Surry County home.

They went on a fishing trip together and returned to the home, where Mildred's son, Steven McHone was staying while on probation for some larceny convictions.

As Wesley Jr. prepared for bed with his wife and 2 year old child, they overheard a heated agrument between McHone and his parents about money. A few minutes later, Mildred Adams opened the door to their bedroom and asked if they had taken the gun from the camper. As Wesley Jr. got dressed, he heard three gun shots.

When he went into the hallway, he heard Mr. Adams tell Wesley Jr. to call 911. While he was talking on the telephone with the 911 operator, he turned and saw McHone and Mr. Adams enter the back door. They were wrestling and McHone had a pistol.

Wesley Jr. immediately dropped the telephone and disarmed McHone. Wesley Jr. went back to the telephone and McHone and Mr. Adams began wrestling again. Mr. Adams and McHone struggled out of the living room and headed down the hallway, out of Wesley Jr.'s sight.

Approximately a minute later, Mr. Adams reappeared in the kitchen doorway and said, "Your mother is facedown out back. You have got to get help for her. Your mother's facedown. I don't know how badly she's hurt."

As Mr. Adams approached Wesley Jr., McHone came to the doorway carrying a shotgun. When Mr. Adams realized that McHone was bringing the gun up into a firing position, aimed at Wesley Jr., he immediately moved toward McHone, reaching for the gun.

McHone fired the shotgun into Mr. Adams' chest, and the force of the discharge threw Mr. Adams into Wesley Jr.'s arms, knocking them both to the floor and injuring Wesley Jr.'s leg.

After shooting Mr. Adams, McHone raised the gun in the direction of Wesley Jr. who managed to get up from the floor and take the weapon from McHone.

When the struggle ended, Wesley Jr. told McHone to stay down and not to move. McHone began crying and saying, "Oh, my God. What have I done."

A few minutes later, McHone told Wesley Jr. "Just shoot me. Just get it over with." "If you don't kill me, I will get out of jail hunt you down and hunt your family down and finish them off."

Citations:

State v. McHone, 334 N.C. 627, 435 S.E.2d 296 (N.C. 1993) (Direct Appeal).
State v. McHone, 348 N.C. 254, 499 S.E.2d 761 (N.C. 1998) (PCR).
McHone v. Polk, 392 F.3d 691 (4th Cir.) (Habeas)

Final Meal:

Medium-rare Porterhouse steak, steak fries, chocolate cheesecake and a 20-ounce Mountain Dew.

Final Words:

He issued no last statement, but appeared to say "I'm so sorry" to half brother Wesley Adams Jr.

ClarkProsecutor.org

North Carolina Department of Correction

MCHONE, STEVEN V.
DOC Number: 0270047
DOB: 03/23/1970
RACE: WHITE
SEX: MALE
DATE OF SENTENCING: 03/07/1991
COUNTY OF CONVICTION: SURRY COUNTY
FILE#: 90003642
CHARGE: MURDER FIRST DEGREE (PRINCIPAL)
DATE OF CRIME: 06/03/1990

Steven McHone- Chronology of Events

11/10/2005 - North Carolina Supreme Court vacates stay of execution.

11/9/2005 - Surry County Superior Court Judge Anderson Cromer stays the scheduled execution of Steven McHone.

11/9/2005 - Witnesses named for Steven McHone execution.

10/13/2005 - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck sets November 11, 2005 as the execution date for Steven McHone.

10/3/2005 - U.S. Supreme Court denies McHone's petition for a writ of certiorari.

10/8/1993 - North Carolina Supreme Court confirms McHone's conviction and sentence of death.

3/7/1991 - Steven McHone sentenced to death in Surry Co. Superior Court for the murder of Mildred Adams and Wesley Adams Sr.

North Carolina Department of Correction
For Release: IMMEDIATE
Date: November 9, 2005

Witnesses named for Steven Van McHone execution

RALEIGH - Witnesses have been named for the execution of Steven Van McHone, scheduled for 2 a.m. on Nov. 11 at Central Prison

Official Witnesses
Wesley Adams Jr. – Victim's family member
Wendy Adams – Victim's family member
Sara Riddle – Victim's family member
Ivan Johnson – Victim's family member
Jimmy Inman – Surry County sheriff’s deputy (retired)
Ron Perry – SBI district supervisor/special agent (retired)

Media Witnesses
David Ingram – Winston-Salem Journal
Angela Schmoll – Mount Airy News
Estes Thompson – Associated Press, Raleigh

For Release: IMMEDIATE
Contact: Public Affairs Office
Date: Oct 13, 2005
Phone: (919) 716-3700

Execution date set for Steven Van McHone

RALEIGH - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck has set Nov. 11, 2005 as the execution date for inmate Steven Van McHone. The execution is scheduled for 2 a.m. at Central Prison in Raleigh.

McHone, 35, was sentenced to death March 7, 1991 in Surry County Superior Court for the June 1990 murders of Mildred Johnson Adams and Wesley Dalton Adams Sr.

Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk will explain the execution procedures during a media tour scheduled for Monday, November 7 at 10:00 a.m. Interested media representatives should arrive at Central Prison’s visitor center promptly at 10:00 a.m. on the tour date. The session will last approximately one hour. The media tour will be the only opportunity to photograph the execution chamber and deathwatch area before the execution. Journalists who plan to attend the tour should contact the Department of Correction Public Affairs Office at (919) 716-3700 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4.

ATTENTION EDITORS: A photo of Steven Van McHone (#0270047) can be obtained by using the "Offender Search" function on the Department of Correction Web site at www.doc.state.nc.us. For more information about the death penalty, including selection of witnesses, click on “The Death Penalty” link.

Stay vacated; killer of 2 is executed

Steven Van McHone loses final appeals and is put to death for two shootings

By Andrea Weigl - Raleigh News & Observer

Nov 11, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Steven Van McHone's reprieve from death by lethal injection lasted a little more than a day. By 4 p.m. Thursday, the N.C. Supreme Court had vacated a stay granted the day before by a Surry County judge based on the last words of McHone's mother: "He didn't mean to do it. Don't hurt him."

McHone had been sentenced to death for the 1990 shootings of his mother and stepfather. At 9 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal. Gov. Mike Easley denied his clemency petition shortly after 11 p.m.

McHone, 35, was executed at 2 a.m. today at Raleigh's Central Prison, where death row and the execution chamber are located.Starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, McHone began having the first contact visits with his family and friends since he arrived on death row 14 years ago. At 5 p.m., he sat down to his last meal: a medium-rare Porterhouse steak, steak fries, chocolate cheesecake and a 20-ounce Mountain Dew.

At a prayer service at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, Rose Clark was among those in attendance before a candlelit procession down to the prison. Clark's brother Ernest Basden was executed in December 2002 in a murder-for-hire plot. "I want to support the family of Steve," Clark said. "They are also the victims."

Those who had agreed to witness the execution included McHone's half-brother, Wesley Adams Jr., and sister-in-law, Wendy Adams, who live outside Dayton, Ohio. The couple had asked Easley to allow the execution to be carried out. They feared McHone because, after killing his parents, he threatened to kill the couple and their 2-year-old son, Alex. In fact, Wesley Adams Jr. disarmed McHone during a struggle on that June night in 1990.

After a family fishing trip, Mildred Adams, her husband, Wesley Adams Sr., and other relatives returned to the couple's Surry County home. Their son, McHone, who was 19 at the time, was there and started arguing with his mother about money. McHone had been living at home while on probation for some larceny convictions.

Mildred Adams told the others a handgun was missing, and three gunshots were heard a short time later coming from the back yard. McHone had shot Mildred Adams in the back of the head and left her face down and injured in the back yard. McHone then found a shotgun and shot his stepfather, Wesley Adams Sr., inside the house. The shootings ended when Wesley Adams Jr., took away the gun and held McHone down until police arrived.

Mildred Adams uttered her last words to a paramedic who came to her aid after the shootings. The paramedic, Teresa O. Durham of Sparta, did not mention what was said until the late 1990s.

McHone's attorneys, Ken Rose and Cynthia Adcock, convinced Superior Court Judge Anderson Cromer that their client deserved a hearing based on the newly discovered evidence of his mother's dying declaration. They say it could have persuaded jurors to spare his life. Their argument didn't persuade the state Supreme Court, however, which sided with state prosecutors seeking to have the death sentence upheld.

Special Deputy Attorney General Valerie B. Spalding questioned why the paramedic did not note Mildred Adams' words in her report or tell anyone about the statements for years after the killings. Spalding also argued that the mother's statement would have little impact on a jury because she didn't know what McHone had done after shooting her.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Wesley Adams Jr., a Captain in the United States Air Force, and his family were visiting in his parents' home in Surry County, NC. Wendy Adams, Wesley Jr.'s wife and the mother of two-year-old Alex, testified at trial that on the evening of June 2, 1990, she, Wesley Jr., Alex, and Mr. and Mrs. Adams went on a fishing trip. Wendy and Wesley Jr. cleaned Mr. Adams' camper prior to leaving for the trip.

While cleaning the camper they discovered a handgun. Mrs. Adams explained that the gun was for protection from animals when camping. The family returned from the fishing trip at approximately 12:30 a.m. on 3 June 1990.

Steven McHone, who resided with his parents, was at home when they arrived. Wendy began getting Alex prepared for bed, and while doing so, she overheard McHone arguing with Mr. and Mrs. Adams about money.

McHone told them "he wanted his money and he couldn't go on living like that." Wendy, Wesley Jr., and Alex went to bed.

Approximately ten or fifteen minutes after they were in bed, Mrs. Adams opened the door to their room. She asked Wesley Jr. if he had taken the handgun from the camper. Wesley Jr. said that he had not moved the gun. Mrs. Adams responded, "then its missing" and she closed the bedroom door.

Wesley Jr. got up and began to get dressed so that he could find out why McHone was arguing with his parents. However, before he left the bedroom, he and Wendy heard three gun shots.

Wesley Jr. told Wendy "to stay down and keep Alex covered." He then went out into the hallway to find out what had happened. Wendy heard someone coming up the basement stairs, then heard Mr. Adams tell Wesley Jr. to call 911.

Wesley Jr. testified that while he was talking on the telephone with the 911 operator, he turned and saw McHone and Mr. Adams enter the back door. They were wrestling and McHone had a pistol.

Wesley Jr. immediately dropped the telephone and disarmed McHone. Wesley Jr. went back to the telephone and McHone and Mr. Adams began wrestling again. Mr. Adams and McHone struggled out of the living room and headed down the hallway, out of Wesley Jr.'s sight.

Approximately a minute later, Mr. Adams reappeared in the kitchen doorway and said, "Your mother is facedown out back. You have got to get help for her. Your mother's facedown. I don't know how badly she's hurt."

As Mr. Adams approached Wesley Jr., McHone came to the doorway carrying a shotgun. When Mr. Adams realized that McHone was bringing the gun up into a firing position, aimed at Wesley Jr., he immediately moved toward McHone, reaching for the gun. McHone fired the shotgun into Mr. Adams' chest, and the force of the discharge threw Mr. Adams into Wesley Jr.'s arms, knocking them both to the floor and injuring Wesley Jr.'s leg.

After shooting Mr. Adams, McHone raised the gun in the direction of Wesley Jr. who managed to get up from the floor and take the weapon from McHone. When the struggle ended, Wesley Jr. told McHone to stay down and not to move. McHone began crying and saying, "Oh, my God. What have I done."

Wesley Jr. turned away from McHone to see if his wife was safe. McHone then stopped crying and reached for the shotgun. Wesley Jr. struggled with McHone again, and was able to keep the weapon from him. McHone suddenly began to curse Wesley Jr. and told him, "I killed him. Now I want you to kill me, because I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail. Just shoot me. Just get it over with." McHone continued to curse Wesley Jr. in a very loud voice and stated that Wesley Jr. was gutless and "if Wesley Jr. didn't kill him and he got out of jail he'd hunt him down and hunt his family down and finish them off."

A member of the first response team organized by the volunteer fire service testified that when he arrived at the Adams residence Mr. Adams was lying on the kitchen floor. He determined that Mr. Adams had a large chest wound and he did not have a pulse. Another member of the first response team found Mrs. Adams on the ground in the backyard. She appeared to have been shot in the back of the head, but she was still alive. Mrs. Adams later died from the gunshot wound.

A Deputy Sheriff with the Surry County Sheriff's Department arrived at the crime scene shortly after 2:00 a.m. When the officer entered the house, McHone yelled, "Why did I do it? What have I done?"

McHone was taken outside and placed in the patrol car. The officer smelled alcohol on defendant's breath. At trial, the officer testified that a person is drunk when that "person's mental and physical capabilities are impaired to the point that he cannot walk, talk, or act in a proper fashion."

In his opinion, McHone was not drunk on the night the murders occurred. A detective with the Surry County Sheriff's Department testified that when he entered the couple's residence, McHone stated, "I know what I've done, and I'll have to pay for it. Why don't you just shoot me and get it over with." The detective also testified that although McHone had been drinking, he did not believe that he was drunk.

A pathologist at North Carolina Baptist Hospital who performed autopsies on Mr. Adams and Mrs. Adams determined that Mr. Adams died of a shotgun wound to the chest, and Mrs. Adams died of a gunshot wound to the head.

The State presented other witnesses who testified to a stormy relationship between McHone and his mother, including several threats by McHone to harm or kill her. McHone did not testify. However, McHone presented witnesses who testified that McHone had been drinking prior to the murders.

The State told the jury that McHone may have been intoxicated but he was not drunk to the point of not being responsible for his actions. The jury heard evidence that on prior occasions McHone had chased his mother around the house with a knife, threatening to kill her, that Mildred reported to her friends that she was afraid to be alone with him because "he had told her that he was going to kill her," and that she was "afraid to lay down and go to sleep at night" because she believed that "sooner or later he was going to kill her."

The jury convicted McHone of two counts of first degree murder, one each for killing his mother, Mildred, and his step-father, Wesley, Sr. The jury also convicted McHone of one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, for his attack on his step-brother, Wesley, Jr.

UPDATE:

Steven Van McHone was executed early Friday for the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather. McHone, 35, was pronounced dead by injection at 2:10 a.m., said Pam Walker, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

He issued no last statement, but appeared to say "I'm so sorry" to a half-brother who supported the execution. He lost his last chance to halt the execution when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency late Thursday. That decision was announced after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal without comment.

The court rejected the appeal from McHone's lawyers to stop the execution so that his mother's dying statement that he didn't intend to shoot her could be considered. Earlier in the day, the state Supreme Court had overturned a stay issued by a lower court judge for the Surry County man. McHone was sentenced to death for the 1990 slayings of his mother and stepfather. He's the third person executed this year in North Carolina.

"Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reasons to invalidate the sentences recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts," Easley said in a statement. Last week, the governor and his legal adviser met with prosecutors, defense lawyers and members of McHone's family. Two half sisters and a half brother had asked that McHone not be executed, saying they forgave him and wanted to forge a relationship with him. But another half brother, who caught his father after he was hit by a shotgun blast, told Easley that justice demanded the execution.

Surry County Superior Court Judge Anderson Cromer on Wednesday ordered the execution stopped to allow a paramedic who treated Mildred Adams, McHone's mother, to testify about her patient's dying statement. Paramedic Teresa Durham said in an affidavit that Adams told her that McHone didn't mean to fatally shoot her. McHone also killed Adams' husband, Wesley Adams Sr. The state's high court rejected the defense argument, but didn't say why in its one-page order vacating the stay. The U.S. Supreme Court then followed with its decision.

McHone's half brother, Wesley Adams Jr. and wife Wendy, drove from their home in Dayton, Ohio, to witness the execution. Wesley Jr. caught his father's body after McHone shot him. Adams cites threats that McHone made in a letter written to a girlfriend in September 1990 as part of his reason for not feeling safe.

The state attorney general's office released the letter last week. In the letter, McHone wrote that every time he thought of the way his half-brother was treating him, it "tears me up! I know one thing, if I ever get out of prison, I'm going off on his ass ... he won't have a snowball's chance in hell when and if I get out!"

Adams said that he and his wife, Wendy Adams, and their child still feel threatened. "Wendy and I and my son Alex were there," Adams said in an interview last week. "Unless you've experienced this type of terror - and that's exactly what it was - you're really an outside party. That crosses a threshold where I'm having difficulty saying 'OK, everything's forgiven here.' I don't know that I'm ready to say I'm fully comfortable that the state of North Carolina will incarcerate him for life."

Wendy Adams said she was inside a bedroom with her young son when the shootings occurred. She specifically rebuts the comments that Mildred Adams is said to have made to Durham. "She could not have imagined what he did afterward. None of us can say how she would have felt if he had killed her only grandson," Wendy Adams said. "Our family has lived in this shadow for 15 years now."

Wendy Adams said in a telephone interview that the paramedic's testimony was suspicious. "There was another paramedic with her and do we have any word from whoever it was that they heard it, too?" she said. "It was iffy because from all accounts she didn't tell anybody about it until years afterward."

McHone, who was housed alone in a cell block near the death chamber, visited with family members who supported his try for clemency - his half sisters, Tina Walker and Cheryl McMillian, and a half brother, Randall Adams.

Evidence showed McHone and his 52-year-old mother argued over money and that he chased her around the yard before shooting her in the back of the head. Wesley Adams Sr., 52, disarmed McHone and went to help his wife while McHone found another weapon and shot his stepfather before being disarmed by Wesley Jr.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Do Not Execute Steven Van McHone!

NORTH CAROLINA - Steven Van McHone - November 11, 2005

Steven Van McHone is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 11, 2005 for the June 2, 1990 deaths of his mother, Mildred Johnson Adams, and his stepfather, Wesley Dalton Adams, Sr. in Surry County. McHone was also found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill his stepbrother, Wesley Dalton Adams, Jr.

McHone had enjoyed a happy childhood until his parent’s divorce. According to psychologist Dr. John Frank Warren, since he was 12 years old McHone has had a “very serious substance abuse problem.” Though he had had some legal problems in the past McHone did not have a criminal record for violence. Furthermore McHone’s father testified that he suffered drinking and gambling problems and often left McHone home alone late at night when McHone was young, to go out, drink, and gamble.

McHone’s friends testified that he was under the influence of a large amount of alcohol and possibly other drugs on the night of the crimes. According to North Carolina state law, voluntary intoxication can be a defense for capital murder. Additionally, McHone’s trial counsel failed to object to inappropriate statements of the prosecutor and unsatisfactory jury instruction. McHone was only 20 years old at the time of the crimes and has shown remorse.

Please write Gov. Michael Easley requesting that he commute Steven Van McHone’s sentence to life in prison.

Man N.C. inmate executed by injection

By Estes Thompson - Charlotte Observer

Associated Press - Fri, Nov. 11, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. - Steven Van McHone was executed early Friday for the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather after he appeared to apologize to the half brother who supported the execution. McHone, 35, was pronounced dead by injection at 2:10 a.m., said Pam Walker, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections. He was the third person executed in North Carolina this year.

He issued no last statement, but appeared to say "I'm so sorry," to half brother Wesley Adams Jr., who supported the execution and drove from Ohio to witness it. "We have sympathy and pray for comfort for those who will grieve Steve's passing," Adams said in a statement. "We do, however, feel that justice was upheld and that this fate was sealed many years ago."

McHone lost his last chance to halt the execution when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency late Thursday. That decision was announced after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal without comment. The court rejected the appeal from McHone's lawyers to stop the execution so that his mother's dying statement that he didn't intend to shoot her could be considered.

Last week, the governor and his legal adviser met with prosecutors, defense lawyers and members of McHone's family. Two half sisters and a half brother had asked that McHone not be executed, saying they forgave him and wanted to forge a relationship with him.

But Wesley Adams Jr., who caught his father after he was hit by a shotgun blast, told Easley that justice demanded the execution. Wesley Adams Jr. and wife, Wendy, drove from their home in Dayton, Ohio, to witness the execution.

Evidence showed McHone and his 52-year-old mother argued over money and that he chased her around the yard before shooting her in the back of the head. Wesley Adams Sr., 52, disarmed McHone and went to help his wife while McHone found another weapon and shot his stepfather before being disarmed by Wesley Jr.

Killer saved by victim's dying words

McHone's execution on hold; judge orders new hearing

By Andrea Weigl - The News & Observer

Nov 11, 2005

On Wednesday, Steven Van McHone's mother's dying words put off his execution for killing her. At a hearing in Surry County, Superior Court Judge Anderson D. Cromer ruled that Mildred Adams' newly disclosed request that her son not be harmed warranted a hearing about whether it would have persuaded a jury not to decide that he should die. That hearing has not been scheduled.

While McHone's family and lawyers were elated, the N.C. Attorney General's Office planned to appeal. If the N.C. Supreme Court disagrees with Cromer, McHone still could be executed at 2 a.m. Friday. "We're happy," said Cynthia Adcock, one of McHone's lawyers. "We know that the state is appealing, so we're cautious." McHone's other lawyer, Ken Rose, director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, said he didn't know of another case in which a victim's dying words became the basis for a stay of execution.

Meanwhile, McHone was moved to the death watch area at Raleigh's Central Prison, a room with four cells adjacent to the death chamber. Prison officials said they must proceed as though the execution will occur until they get a final legal decision. Any decision by the state's high court would be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

McHone, 35, was sentenced to death for shooting his mother and stepfather, Wesley Adams Sr., to death in their Surry County home in 1990. McHone shot his mother with a handgun and his stepfather with a shotgun. He also threatened to shoot his half-brother Wesley Adams Jr., his sister-in-law, Wendy, and his 2-year-old nephew, Alex. Wesley Adams Jr., who at the time was an Air Force captain, twice disarmed McHone that day. Witnesses testified that McHone drank 1 1/2 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey and a pitcher of beer and might have taken drugs before the killings.

As police swarmed in to arrest McHone, his mother lay dying in the back yard, where she had been shot in the back of the head. A paramedic, Teresa O. Durham of Sparta, described in an affidavit last month how she went to help Mildred Adams. As Durham rolled Adams over, Adams grabbed Durham's hand and said, "He didn't mean to do it. Don't hurt him."

Later, Adams again said to Durham, "Don't hurt him. He didn't mean to do it," according to the Oct. 27 affidavit. Those were Mildred Adams' last words because a breathing tube was inserted, leaving her unable to speak, Durham said. Adams died a short time later. McHone's lawyers, Adcock and Ken Rose, argue that the jury might have sentenced McHone to life in prison if it had heard what his mother said.

Some downplay what mother said

But Wendy Adams, who lives outside Dayton, Ohio, and wants McHone executed, doesn't think it would have had any effect. "It's a reach that whatever she said makes any difference," Wendy Adams said Wednesday.

When Mildred Adams spoke, she didn't know her son had killed her husband and threatened others, Wendy Adams said. "She didn't know what else he had done or what else he intended to do," Wendy Adams said this week.

Valerie B. Spalding, a state prosecutor, questioned why the paramedic didn't record the victim's last words in her report and didn't tell anyone about them until she mentioned them to one of McHone's relatives in the late 1990s.

Even if the jurors heard those words, Spalding argued, they still would have sentenced McHone to death. She pointed to McHone's prior threats to kill his mother, his firing three shots at her back and his finding another weapon to shoot his stepfather after Wesley Adams Jr. took his handgun. "No rational juror who heard the paramedic's evidence of Mildred's alleged dying declaration would have decided the two cases differently," Spalding wrote.

McHone Executed For Murder Of Mother, Stepfather

Wxii12.com

November 11, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Steven Van McHone was executed early Friday for the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather. A spokeswoman for the state Corrections Department said the Surry County man was pronounced dead by injection at 2:10 a.m. He issued no last statement, but appeared to say "I'm so sorry" to a half-brother who supported the execution. Other family members had sought clemency.

McHone lost his last chance to halt the execution when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency late Thursday. That decision was announced after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal without comment.

Earlier Thursday, the state Supreme Court overturned a local judge's order to halt the execution. That judge, in Surry County, had agreed with defense lawyers who wanted more time to consider the dying words of McHone's mother. A paramedic said the woman insisted her son didn't mean to kill her or her husband. The lawyers said his trial might have had a different outcome if the jury had heard about his mother's remarks, or known that he was drunk and on drugs at the time of the killings.

McHone was sentenced to death for the 1990 slayings of his mother and stepfather. He's the third person executed this year in North Carolina.

Family Split On Steven McHone Execution

November 1, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Lawyers and family members on both sides visited Gov. Mike Easley on Tuesday during clemency proceedings for condemned murderer Steven Van McHone. McHone was sentenced to death for the 1990 slayings of his father and mother in Surry County. The case has split McHone's family.

Wesley Adams Jr. said after visiting the governor that he was there the night that his parents were gunned down and he won't feel safe until McHone is executed. On the other side, a sister and brother told the governor they want McHone to live because they love him and have forgiven him. They say he's a vital link to their family history. McHone is scheduled for execution by injection on Nov. 11 at Central Prison in Raleigh.

McHone dies by lethal injection at 2:10 a.m., executed for murder of mother, stepfather

By David Ingram - Winston-Salem Journal

Friday, November 11, 2005

RALEIGH - Steven Van McHone was put to death at Central Prison early Friday morning, 15 years after he killed his mother and stepfather at their Surry County home.

McHone entered the execution chamber on a gurney at 1:50 a.m., and he appeared to say "I'm so sorry" to Wes Adams Jr., a half-brother whom McHone almost killed the night of the parents' deaths. McHone then exchanged smiles and laughter with his attorney and with two friends, who were among nine people who served as official witnesses.

At about 2 a.m., executioners added a sedative to McHone's intravenous lines. He closed his eyes within two minutes and appeared to be asleep. Two lethal chemicals were added, and at 2:05 McHone's torso shook quickly and his face became pale. He appeared not to move afterward. "Ladies and gentlemen, the order of the court has been carried out. He was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m.," Marvin Polk, the warden of Central Prison, announced to the witnesses.

Wes Adams Jr. and his wife, Wendy Adams, released a statement afterward reiterating their support for the execution. "We have sympathy and pray for comfort for those who will grieve Steve's passing," they wrote. "We do, however, feel that justice was upheld, and that this fate was sealed many years ago." Some other relatives had opposed the execution, saying that they had forgiven McHone and wanted him to meet their families.

McHone's court appeals ran out late Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined, for at least the second time, to intervene in the case. Gov. Mike Easley declined to grant clemency. "Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reasons to invalidate the sentences recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts," Easley said in a statement.

McHone's last meal at 5 p.m. consisted of Porterhouse steak, steak fries, chocolate cheese cake and a 20 oz. Mountain Dew. He did not release a final statement. His body was taken to the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill.

Posted on 11/07 at 08:52 PM

I was the only eye witness to what actions Steve McHone took that morning. He may have been drinking hours earlier, but he was not intoxicated when I fought him in hand-to-hand combat and disarmed him twice that morning. No intoxicated man can put three rounds into a woman's head (our mom), later fire a shotgun across the room mortally wounding my dad, and then reload the shotgun with the intent of killing the remaining lives in the house, my wife, 2 yr old son, and me. Enough Mr. Rose!

Wes Adams

Governor's Hardest Job: Easley holds the power of life or death for 3 inmates who are scheduled to die

By David Ingram.

November 8, 2005

One of the busiest times in the recent history of North Carolina's death row is scheduled to begin early Friday. That's when, barring a last-minute reprieve, Steven McHone will be executed for the June 1990 killings of his mother and stepfather at their Surry County home. Another inmate, Elias Hanna Syriani of Mecklenburg County, is scheduled for execution a week later, followed Dec. 2 by the execution of a third inmate, Kenneth Lee Boyd of Rockingham County. Only one other time, in 2003, have so many executions been ordered so close together since North Carolina began using the death penalty again in 1984.

The schedule is a result of several factors, including state law and the timing of decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. It also presents challenges to defense attorneys, Gov. Mike Easley and the prison officials who will carry out the executions. "Clearly, it puts a lot of pressure on the system with all the work that's involved," said Rich Rosen, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In the week before an execution, much of that pressure is focused on last-minute court motions and on the governor's power to grant clemency. Already seen as a power with political consequences - affecting whether a politician is seen as "tough on crime" - clemency decisions are considered by some lawyers to be even more difficult when several decisions are concentrated in a short timeframe. "If you're a lawyer working on a death-penalty case, probably the worst place you want to be is next in line after a governor grants clemency," Rosen said. "It is difficult for governors to give clemency politically," he said. "Anyone who thinks that's not the case doesn't see all the politics swirling around clemency."

Cari Boyce, a spokeswoman for Easley, said that politics never affects whether an inmate gets clemency. "That doesn't in any way affect the governor's decision," she said. "He looks at every decision individually and makes a decision based on the merits of each case, not on the cases that came before." Though the governor usually doesn't decide on clemency until just before a scheduled execution, the process begins about a month earlier. That's when a date is set and the governor's legal counsel begins gathering files on the case. Boyce said that the early review ensures that Easley has enough time to consider clemency petitions, even when he has several at the same time. "He takes every case very seriously and spends a great deal of time on each one," she said. "When there's three in a row, it means he's spending that much more time."

Multiple executions in the same month, or even on the same day, were common up through the 1940s. The state executed five men Oct. 3, 1947, and then four more on Oct. 31. Six men were put to death in three weeks in December 1949. Executions became less common in the 1950s and stopped entirely between October 1961 and March 1984. Since then, the state has executed 36 people.

Until 1996, state law required that a superior-court judge set the execution date at a hearing to be held "promptly" after an inmate ran out of appeals in the court system. The law now requires that prison officials set the execution for not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after they are notified that an inmate's appeals have run out. The laws in other states vary. Some require the governor to set the execution date and others require the prison warden to do so.

"There are dangers in making it too inflexible," said Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit research group in Washington that has been critical of how the death penalty is applied. "It does need to be a slow process in order for it to be thorough," Dieter said. "When you have a few in a row, it can play different ways. What if two of three deserve clemency? That could be a doubly hard decision."

For the three inmates scheduled to die in the next month, the appeals ran out Oct. 3 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear all three cases. Prison officials were soon notified, and all three executions had to be scheduled in the same 30-day window. "You add to that the fact that we have a major holiday and that gave us even fewer options," said Pam Walker, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Correction.

Central Prison in Raleigh, where the executions take place, adds extra staff for the night of an execution, though Walker declined to provide details for security reasons. "It's just a lot of additional hours and overtime," she said. The only other recent time when Central Prison had so many executions in so short a time period was in 2003, when seven people were executed. Three were executed in the three weeks from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3.

One of those three, Joseph Bates, confessed to and was convicted of murder in the death of a Yadkin County man who had been beaten and shot in the neck. Rosemary Godwin, a lawyer in Raleigh who helped represent Bates, said that the timing of his execution within weeks of two others did not appear to affect his request for clemency. "When we sat down and talked with the governor about it, it was obvious that he had studied our petition thoroughly. He had tagged certain things and was very well-versed on the issues," Godwin said. "It didn't look to me that he had crammed for the session."

One of McHone's attorneys, Ken Rose, said he worries how the two other scheduled executions will affect his client's clemency request. "Three executions in a three-week period or a month period is too much for any governor to handle," Rose said. "That's too much pressure."

WRAL.com

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Steven Van McHone smiled and laughed with friends, then turned serious and apologized to his half brother for the murders of McHone's mother and stepfather minutes before he was executed early Friday. "I'm so sorry," McHone, 35, mouthed through thick glass panes separating the execution chamber from the witness room to Wesley Adams Jr., who disarmed McHone after the killings 15 years ago. Strapped to a gurney, he turned his head to rub a teary eye on the light blue pillowcase.

Shortly afterward, about 2 a.m., McHone stopped talking and breathed deeply. He looked at the ceiling, then shut his eyes and never reopened them. There were a few muscle movements and color drained from his skin before he was declared dead at 2:10 a.m. McHone made no final statement.

"We have sympathy and pray for comfort for those who will grieve Steve's passing," Adams said in a statement. "We do, however, feel that justice was upheld and that this fate was sealed many years ago. "We feel that the enforcement of duly deliberated and prescribed sentences send a stronger message, as to the sanctity of human life, than does the sparing of those who have taken life willfully and brutally."

McHone lost his last chance to halt the execution when Gov. Mike Easley denied clemency late Thursday. That decision was announced after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down McHone's appeal without comment. Defense lawyers had asked the court to stop the execution so that his mother's dying statement that he didn't intend to shoot her could be considered.

Last week, the governor and his legal adviser met with prosecutors, defense lawyers and members of McHone's family. Two half sisters and a half brother had asked that McHone not be executed, saying they forgave him and wanted to forge a relationship with him.

A Superior Court judge gave McHone a brief reprieve this week when he stopped the execution to allow a paramedic who treated Mildred Adams, McHone's mother, to testify about her patient's dying statement. Paramedic Teresa Durham said in an affidavit that Adams told her that McHone didn't mean to fatally shoot her. McHone also killed Adams' husband, Wesley Adams Sr. Prosecutors said the statement was suspect, largely because Mildred Adams was in pain and had trouble talking and because it wasn't recorded in the paramedic's original report. The state Supreme Court rejected the defense argument and McHone's lawyers sought a last-ditch stay from the federal high court.

McHone, housed alone in a cell block near the death chamber since Wednesday afternoon, visited with family members who supported his try for clemency _ his half sisters, Tina Walker and Cheryl McMillian, and a half brother, Randall Adams. As they left the prison about 11 p.m., they expressed disappointment that Easley didn't change the sentence to life. McHone had a last meal of medium rare Porterhouse steak, French fries, chocolate cheesecake and a Mountain Dew soft drink, prison officials said.

Evidence showed McHone and his 52-year-old mother argued over money and that he chased her around the yard before shooting her in the back of the head. Wesley Adams Sr., 52, disarmed McHone and went to help his wife while McHone found another weapon and shot his stepfather before being disarmed by Wesley Jr.

Two other North Carolina men convicted of murder are also scheduled for execution over the next several weeks. Elias Syriani, 67, scheduled for execution Nov. 18, was convicted in June 1991 for the July 1990 death of his wife. Kenneth Boyd, 57, was sentenced to death in July 1994 for the March 1988 deaths of his wife and father-in-law. He is scheduled for execution Dec. 2.

Family Split Over Scheduled Execution

November 1, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Lawyers and family members on both sides visited Gov. Mike Easley Tuesday during clemency proceedings for a man convicted of murder in the deaths of his mother and father in Surry County. Sentenced to death on March 7, 1991, for the 1990 slayings of Wesley and Mildred Adams, Steven McHone's case has split his family.

Wesley Adams Jr. said after visiting Easley that he was at his parents' home the night they were gunned down and he would not feel safe until McHone, 35, was executed.

On the other side, a sister and brother told Easley that they wanted McHone to live because they loved him and had forgiven him. They said he was a vital link to their family history. "I am truly thankful and blessed to have the time to really reach out and tell (McHone) that I forgive him," said Tina Walker, the victims' daughter. "And I found it very easy and very comforting."

McHone is scheduled for execution by injection on Nov. 11 at Central Prison in Raleigh.

Two other North Carolina men convicted of murder are also scheduled for execution over the next five weeks. Elias Syriani, 67, scheduled for execution Nov. 18, was convicted in June 1991 for the July 1990 death of his wife. Kenneth Boyd, 57, was sentenced to death in July 1994 for the March 1988 deaths of his wife and father-in-law. He is scheduled for execution Dec. 2.

Easley has commuted just two death sentences in his five years in office -- one in October 2001, where he pardoned Robert Bacon because the jury was racially biased. Three months later, Easley spared Charlie Alston's life because of problems with evidence collection.

State v. McHone, 334 N.C. 627, 435 S.E.2d 296 (N.C. 1993) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder of his mother and stepfather and assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill stepbrother and was sentenced to death on each of the first-degree murder convictions after jury trial in the Superior Court, Surry County, James M. Long, J. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court, Frye, J., held that: (1) conversations between victim and three witnesses relating to victim's fear of defendant were admissible to show victim's state of mind at time she made statements; (2) probative value of testimony of witnesses as to victim's fear of defendant was not outweighed by any danger of unfair prejudice; (3) defendant's prior criminal activity was sufficient to preclude submission of mitigating circumstance of no significant history of prior criminal activity; and (4) imposition of death penalty was not disproportionate as matter of law. Affirmed.

FRYE, Justice.

On 4 June 1990 a Surry County grand jury indicted defendant for the murder of Mildred Johnson Adams and Wesley Dalton Adams, Sr. Defendant was also indicted on 20 July 1990 for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury on Wesley Dalton Adams, Jr. In a capital trial, the jury returned verdicts finding defendant guilty of the first-degree murder of Mildred Johnson Adams (Mrs. Adams or defendant's mother) and Wesley Dalton Adams, Sr. (Mr. Adams or defendant's stepfather).

The jury also found defendant guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill Wesley Dalton Adams, Jr. (Wesley Jr. or defendant's half-brother). After a sentencing proceeding held pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, the jury recommended and the trial court imposed sentences of death for each of the first-degree murder convictions. On the same date, the trial court imposed a sentence of ten years imprisonment for the conviction of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Defendant gave oral notice of appeal on 7 March 1991. An order staying execution was entered by this Court on 25 March 1991.

Defendant brings forward seven assignments of error. After reviewing the record, transcript, briefs, and oral arguments of counsel, we conclude that the guilt and sentencing phases of defendant's trial were free from prejudicial error, and that the sentence of death is not disproportionate.

The State presented evidence tending to show the following facts and circumstances. Wesley Jr., a Captain in the United States Air Force, and his family were visiting in his parents' home in Surry County. At trial, the first witness called by the State was Wendy Adams, Wesley Jr.'s wife and the mother of two-year-old Alex. Wendy Adams (Wendy) testified that on the evening of 2 June 1990, she, Wesley Jr., Alex, and Mr. and Mrs. Adams went on a fishing trip. Wendy and Wesley Jr. cleaned Mr. Adams' camper prior to leaving for the trip. While cleaning the camper they discovered a handgun. Mrs. Adams explained that the gun was for protection from animals when camping.

The family returned from the fishing trip at approximately 12:30 a.m. on 3 June 1990. Defendant, who resided with his parents, was at home when they arrived. Wendy began getting Alex prepared for bed, and while doing so, she overheard defendant arguing with Mr. and Mrs. Adams about money. Defendant told them "he wanted his money and he couldn't go on living like that." Wendy, Wesley Jr., and Alex went to bed.

Approximately ten or fifteen minutes after they were in bed, Mrs. Adams opened the door to their room. She asked Wesley Jr. if he had taken the handgun from the camper. Wesley Jr. said that he had not moved the gun. Mrs. Adams responded, "[t]hen its missing" and she closed the bedroom door. Wesley Jr. got up and began to get dressed so that he could find out why defendant was arguing with his parents.

However, before he left the bedroom, he and Wendy heard three gun shots. Wesley Jr. told Wendy "to stay down and keep Alex covered." He then went out into the hallway to find out what had happened. Wendy heard someone coming up the basement stairs, then heard Mr. Adams tell Wesley Jr. to call 911.

Wesley Jr. testified that while he was talking on the telephone with the 911 operator, he turned and saw defendant and Mr. Adams enter the back door. They were wrestling and defendant had a pistol. Wesley Jr. immediately dropped the telephone and disarmed the defendant. Wesley Jr. went back to the telephone and defendant and Mr. Adams began wrestling again. Mr. Adams and defendant struggled out of the living room and headed down the hallway, out of Wesley Jr.'s sight.

Approximately a minute later, Mr. Adams reappeared in the kitchen doorway and said, "Your mother is facedown out back. You have got to get help for her. Your mother's facedown. I don't know how badly she's hurt." As Mr. Adams approached Wesley Jr., defendant came to the doorway carrying a shotgun. When Mr. Adams realized that defendant was bringing the gun up into a firing position, aimed at Wesley Jr., he immediately moved toward defendant, reaching for the gun.

Defendant fired the shotgun into Mr. Adams' chest, and the force of the discharge threw Mr. Adams into Wesley Jr.'s arms, knocking them both to the floor. Wesley Jr.'s leg was injured. After shooting Mr. Adams, defendant raised the gun in the direction of Wesley Jr. who managed to get up from the floor and take the weapon from defendant. When the struggle ended, Wesley Jr. told defendant to stay down and not to move.

Defendant began crying and saying, "Oh, my God. What have I done." Wesley Jr. turned away from defendant to see if his wife was safe. Defendant then stopped crying and reached for the shotgun. Wesley Jr. struggled with defendant again, and was able to keep the weapon from him. Defendant suddenly began to curse Wesley Jr. and told him, "I killed him. Now I want you to kill me, because I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail. Just shoot me. Just get it over with."

Defendant continued to curse Wesley Jr. in a very loud voice and stated that Wesley Jr. was gutless and "if [Wesley Jr.] didn't kill him and he got out of jail he'd hunt [Wesley Jr.] down and hunt his family down and finish [them] off." William Kent Hall, a member of the first response team organized by the volunteer fire service, testified that when he arrived at the Adams residence Mr. Adams was lying on the kitchen floor.

Hall determined that Mr. Adams had a large chest wound and he did not have a pulse. Tommy Wayne Baker, also a member of the first response team, found Mrs. Adams on the ground in the backyard. She appeared to have been shot in the back of the head, but she was still alive. Mrs. Adams later died from the gunshot wound.

Officer Jimmy Inman, a Deputy Sheriff with the Surry County Sheriff's Department, arrived at the crime scene shortly after 2:00 a.m. When Officer Inman entered the house, defendant yelled, "Why did I do it? What have I done?" Defendant was taken outside and placed in the patrol car. Officer Inman smelled alcohol on defendant's breath. At trial, Officer Inman testified that a person is drunk when that "person's mental and physical capabilities are impaired to the point that he cannot walk, talk, or act in a proper fashion."

In his opinion, defendant was not drunk on the night the murders occurred. Officer Terry Miller, a detective with the Surry County Sheriff's Department, testified that when he entered the couple's residence, defendant stated, "I know what I've done, and I'll have to pay for it. Why don't you just shoot me and get it over with." Miller also testified that although defendant had been drinking, he did not believe that defendant was drunk.

Dr. Patrick Eugene Lantz, a pathologist at North Carolina Baptist Hospital, performed autopsies on Mr. Adams and Mrs. Adams. Dr. Lantz determined that Mr. Adams died of a shotgun wound to the chest, and Mrs. Adams died of a gunshot wound to the head. The State presented other witnesses who testified to a stormy relationship between defendant and his mother, including several threats by defendant to harm or kill her.

Defendant did not testify. However, defendant presented witnesses whose testimony tended to show the following facts and circumstances. Jimmy McMillian, a social acquaintance of defendant, testified that on 2 June 1990 he, Tammy Sawyers, and defendant drove to Mount Airy and purchased a pint of Jack Daniel's.

The group then traveled to a Pizza Hut in Winston-Salem. By the time they arrived at the Pizza Hut, McMillian and defendant had finished a pint and a half of Jack Daniel's. McMillian testified that only he and defendant were drinking and they split the alcohol evenly. While at Pizza Hut, defendant drank a pitcher of beer, which is the equivalent of five six-ounce beers. In McMillian's opinion, defendant's mental and physical faculties were appreciably impaired because he was staggering and had a "slushy mouth."

Tammy Bryant testified that she had known defendant for a year. They met at a narcotics anonymous meeting. Two weeks before defendant's mother and stepfather were killed, Bryant began seeing defendant romantically. Bryant testified that she saw defendant on 2 June 1990 at Ronald Speaks' house in Mount Airy. According to Bryant, when defendant arrived at Speaks' house he was drunk, his speech was slurred, and he was staggering.

Defendant got into a fight with Johnny Swaim because Bryant was with Swaim. Once the fight ended, defendant consumed more alcohol, then walked away from Speaks' house. Defendant later returned to Speaks' house and began to cry when Bryant refused to leave with him. Bryant testified that defendant began "swinging [a] gun around in everyone's face, threatening everybody, moving real swiftly and quickly."

Bryant also testified that when she asked defendant several times "what he was on," he responded, "I have taken a couple hits of acid." Approximately thirty minutes later, Bryant, Sawyers, and defendant left the house and went for a ride in Sawyers' car. During the ride, defendant gave his gun to Bryant. Bryant unloaded the gun and then gave it back to defendant. Sawyers drove Bryant back to Speaks' house. Defendant left with Sawyers. Bryant did not see him anymore that evening.

On rebuttal, the State called Sawyers who testified that she did not drink any alcohol on the night in question. She testified that she and defendant had a conversation while driving to Speaks' house and defendant's speech was fine. She also testified that defendant walked fine to and from her vehicle. Sawyers stated that she was never out of defendant's presence for more than five minutes from about 3:00 p.m. on 2 June until nearly 2:00 a.m. the next morning, and she never saw defendant take any controlled substances.

The State did not present any additional evidence during defendant's sentencing proceeding. However, defendant presented the testimony of several witnesses. Dr. James Groce, a psychiatrist, testified that in response to questioning defendant told him about his long history of drug and alcohol abuse.

Based on his interview with defendant, Dr. Groce made two psychiatric diagnoses: polysubstance dependence and adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Dr. Groce defined polysubstance dependence as: Dependence on a substance, drugs or alcohol ... that is a patterned behavior that is compulsive use. That means that an individual could not, without either physical or emotional discomfort, stop the use of that substance. And by polysubstance I mean that this was not limited to one particular chemical, but was a series of chemicals, essentially depending upon availability ... addictive substances, a series of those. And in his case, it was primarily the alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

Dr. John Frank Warren, III, a psychologist, testified that he was appointed by the court to evaluate defendant. In his opinion, defendant had a "very serious substance abuse problem" dating from age twelve.

Bobby McHone, defendant's biological father, testified that during defendant's early years, "I stayed drunk. I gambled. I did everything wrong." Mr. McHone also testified that he did not give defendant's mother any peace. Mr. McHone and his wife divorced after ten years of marriage and they shared custody of defendant. Mr. McHone testified that he would leave defendant at home alone while he worked or went out to drink or gamble. He caught defendant drinking at age thirteen or fourteen, and he realized that defendant was taking drugs at age fifteen.

Kathleen Carroll testified that she is a former neighbor of defendant. Defendant helped her run errands and mow the yard at various times. After the defendant's family moved, defendant continued to visit occasionally. Additional evidence will be discussed as it becomes relevant to a fuller understanding of the specific issues raised on appeal.

I. In defendant's first assignment of error, he contends that he is entitled to a new trial "based on the admission of highly prejudicial statements made by the victim Mildred Adams." During the guilt-innocence phase of the trial, the prosecutor offered the testimony of three witnesses, Lydia Adams Logan, Cheryl Adams McMillian, and Nelda Adams concerning statements allegedly made by Mrs. Adams to them regarding threats made by defendant to kill her.

* * *

Cheryl Adams McMillian, defendant's half-sister, testified that the first time her mother related her fear of defendant occurred one day while McMillian was at work. Mrs. Adams called her and said, "You've got to come. He's going to kill me." McMillian told her mother to calm down and tell her who she was talking about. Mrs. Adams responded, "Stevie. He's got a knife."

McMillian testified that when she arrived at home shortly after her telephone conversation with her mother she was told that defendant had chased her mother around the dining room table and into the kitchen with a knife. McMillian also testified that the last time her mother expressed fear of defendant was when she told her, "I am afraid of him. I am afraid to be alone with him. When Wes is not around, I have to watch what I say to keep him from getting so upset. He has told me that he is going to kill me."

Lydia Logan testified that Mrs. Adams had spoken to her on several occasions regarding defendant's threats. On one occasion, Mrs. Adams told her "they were afraid to lay down and go to sleep at night, afraid he might come in and kill them while they slept. Sooner or later he's going to kill me." Nelda Adams testified that Mrs. Adams had spoken with her on two occasions regarding defendant's threats.

On one occasion, Mrs. Adams told her "that she was afraid for them to go to sleep of [sic] a night and get in a relaxed state; that they would fall into a deep sleep, because that [sic] she didn't know what they would do if he came in the room and they were not expecting it and had no defense." On another occasion, Mrs. Adams told her that defendant "had threatened to kill them, and that she was afraid that he would follow through with this."

* * *

We conclude that the testimony of the three witnesses was relevant to show the relationship between the victim and defendant.

* * *

The evidence at trial showed that defendant committed crimes of violence against three of his family members on 3 June 1990. Defendant fired a shotgun point-blank at his half-brother, injuring his half-brother and killing his stepfather who stepped between them. This occurred minutes after defendant had shot his own mother in the head. The evidence clearly supports the jury's finding of the aggravating circumstance in the first-degree murder of Mrs. Adams and the aggravating circumstances found in the first-degree murder of Mr. Adams.

Further there is nothing in the record that suggests that the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. We thus turn to our final statutory duty of proportionality review.

* * *

In the present case defendant killed his mother and his stepfather in their home. For years, the defendant had threatened to physically harm and kill his mother. Defendant also assaulted his half-brother with the intent to kill him, and threatened, if allowed to live, to "hunt down and finish off" his half-brother's family after being released from jail.

As to the charge of first degree murder of defendant's mother, the jury found the following mitigating circumstances: 1) the murder was committed while the defendant was under the influence of mental or emotional disturbance, 2) the defendant had a history of long-term substance abuse and on the night of the offense was under the influence of alcohol, 3) the defendant had shown remorse for the crime committed, 4) the defendant enjoyed a normal childhood until the time his parents separated, and after that, he began abusing drugs and alcohol, 5) the defendant had previously sought help for his substance abuse problems, 6) defendant's father abused alcohol and gambled excessively and defendant, while he was a child, often spent time with his father in bars while his father drank and gambled, 7) defendant often witnessed arguments between his father and mother, 8) defendant had not previously been convicted of a violent crime, 9) defendant, while he resided with his father, was often left alone at night, without supervision, while his father worked third shift, 10) defendant, while he resided with his father, often had to reside in undesirable places, and 11) any other circumstance(s) arising from the evidence which one or more of the jurors deemed to have mitigating value. As to the charge of first degree murder of defendant's stepfather, the jury found the same mitigating circumstances as in the murder of his mother with the exception of "the defendant had shown remorse for the crime committed."

On both charges the jury found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances and that the aggravating circumstances were sufficiently substantial to call for imposition of the death penalty when considered with the mitigating circumstances found by one or more jurors. After considering the crime and the defendant, we cannot hold as a matter of law that the death sentences recommended by the jury in this case are disproportionate to the penalties imposed in similar cases. As the majority of this Court observed in a recent case:

This Court has found the death sentence disproportionate in seven cases. State v. Benson, 323 N.C. 318, 372 S.E.2d 517 (1988); State v. Stokes, 319 N.C. 1, 352 S.E.2d 653 (1987); State v. Rogers, 316 N.C. 203, 341 S.E.2d 713 (1986), overruled on other grounds, State v. Vandiver, 321 N.C. 570, 364 S.E.2d 373 (1988); State v. Young, 312 N.C. 669, 325 S.E.2d 181 (1985); State v. Hill, 311 N.C. 465, 319 S.E.2d 163 (1984); State v. Bondurant, 309 N.C. 674, 309 S.E.2d 170 (1983); and State v. Jackson, 309 N.C. 26, 305 S.E.2d 703 (1983). In none of these cases was the defendant convicted of more than one murder. State v. McNeil, 324 N.C. 33, 59-60, 375 S.E.2d 909, 925 (1989), sentence vacated, 494 U.S. 1050, 110 S.Ct. 1516, 108 L.Ed.2d 756 (1990), on remand, 327 N.C. 388, 395 S.E.2d 106 (1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 942, 111 S.Ct. 1403, 113 L.Ed.2d 459 (1991). In the instant case, defendant was convicted of two first degree murders--his mother and his stepfather. As we said in State v. Robbins, 319 N.C. 465, 529, 356 S.E.2d 279, 316 (1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 918, 108 S.Ct. 269, 98 L.Ed.2d 226 (1987), "a heavy factor against [the defendant] is that he is a multiple killer." This Court has affirmed the death penalty in several cases involving death or serious injury to one or more persons other than the murder victim. See Robbins, 319 N.C. 465, 356 S.E.2d 279; State v. Noland, 312 N.C. 1, 320 S.E.2d 642 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1230, 105 S.Ct. 1232, 84 L.Ed.2d 369 (1985), reh'g denied, 471 U.S. 1050, 105 S.Ct. 2044, 85 L.Ed.2d 342 (1985); State v. McDougall, 308 N.C. 1, 301 S.E.2d 308 (1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 865, 104 S.Ct. 197, 78 L.Ed.2d 173 (1983); State v. Pinch, 306 N.C. 1, 292 S.E.2d 203 (1982), overruled in part, 323 N.C. 318, 372 S.E.2d 517 (1988); State v. Hutchins, 303 N.C. 321, 279 S.E.2d 788 (1981), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1065, 104 S.Ct. 750, 79 L.Ed.2d 207 (1984).

We recognize that there are multiple murder cases in the pool where the jury has returned a life sentence. Some of them, like the instant case, involved the killing of members of the defendant's family. For example, the jury recommended a life sentence in State v. Shytle, 323 N.C. 684, 374 S.E.2d 573 (1989), where the defendant murdered her husband and her son. She also shot and injured her daughter, then shot herself in the head.

At trial, the defendant relied on a defense of insanity and presented expert testimony that she did not know the difference between right and wrong in relation to shooting her family members. Id. at 687, 374 S.E.2d at 576-77. Shytle may be distinguished from the instant case based on the evidence of insanity and attempted suicide by the defendant.

Another such example is State v. Evangelista, 319 N.C. 152, 353 S.E.2d 375 (1987). There, the defendant held his sister, nephew and niece hostage; then, he killed his sister and nephew. At trial, he relied upon a defense of insanity and presented evidence tending to show that during the siege, he suffered from paranoia. Id. at 156, 353 S.E.2d at 379.

Several psychologists testified to the effect that the defendant was under the delusion that Colombian commandos were trying to kill him and his family. Id. There was also extensive testimony by expert witnesses that "[the defendant's] paranoia affected his actions, and he was incapable of knowing right from wrong in relation to the acts charged." Id. at 162, 353 S.E.2d at 383.

No such evidence of insanity was presented in the instant case. We are not unmindful of the fact that the defendant was only twenty years of age at the time of the homicides. We note first that the age of the defendant was submitted to the jury as a possible mitigating circumstance, but the jury did not find defendant's age to be mitigating as to either murder.

This is understandable in view of defendant's substantial criminal history over a period of several years. We also observe that while the General Assembly has limited the circumstances under which persons of tender years can be sentenced to death, [FN1] several juries have recommended sentences of death notwithstanding the youthful age of the defendant. See, e.g., State v. McCollum, 334 N.C. 208, 433 S.E.2d 144 (1993) (defendant age nineteen); State v. Pinch, 306 N.C. 1, 292 S.E.2d 203 (defendant age nineteen); State v. Rook, 304 N.C. 201, 283 S.E.2d 732 (1981) (defendant age twenty-one).

FN1. N.C.G.S. § 14-17 (defendant under seventeen years of age at time of commission of first-degree murder may not be sentenced to death unless murder committed while serving or on escape from serving sentence for previous murder).

After a thorough review of the transcript, record on appeal, the briefs of both parties, and the oral arguments of counsel, we find that the record fully supports the jury's written findings in aggravation in the death of both victims. We further conclude that the sentences of death were not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor.

We hold that defendant received a fair trial and sentencing proceeding, free of prejudicial error. After comparing this case, where defendant killed his defenseless mother by shooting her in the back of the head and also shot and killed his stepfather, to similar cases in the pool, we cannot hold as a matter of law that the sentence of death is disproportionate or excessive. Therefore, the judgments of the trial court must be and are left undisturbed. NO ERROR.

State v. McHone, 348 N.C. 254, 499 S.E.2d 761 (N.C. 1998) (PCR).

After defendant's convictions of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and death sentence were affirmed by the Supreme Court, 334 N.C. 627, 435 S.E.2d 296, defendant filed for postconviction motions for appropriate relief. The Superior Court, Surry County, Freeman, J., denied relief. Defendant filed petition for writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court, Mitchell, C.J., held that: (1) defendant was not automatically entitled to hearing and to present evidence simply because his motion for appropriate relief was based in part upon asserted denials of his rights under Federal Constitution, but (2) evidentiary hearing was required to resolve question of fact on whether state had engaged in improper ex parte contact with court. Reversed and remanded.

McHone v. Polk, 392 F.3d 691 (4th Cir.) (Habeas)

Background: State prisoner whose capital murder convictions were affirmed on appeal, 435 S.E.2d 296, petitioned for writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, James A. Beaty, Jr., J., denied the petition, and petitioner appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Luttig, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) prosecution's failure to disclose several pretrial statements of prosecution witnesses did not constitute Brady violations, and
(2) petitioner was not denied effective assistance of counsel. Affirmed.

LUTTIG, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner, Steven Van McHone, appeals from the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c), we granted McHone a certificate of appealability in order to address the claims he raises under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) and Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Because we conclude that the North Carolina Supreme Court's disposition of these claims was neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, established federal law, we affirm.

I.

The North Carolina Supreme Court and the district court have thoroughly recounted the facts of Steven McHone's murders of his mother, Mildred Adams, and his stepfather, Wesley Adams, Sr., see State of North Carolina v. McHone, 334 N.C. 627, 435 S.E.2d 296, 298-301 (1993); J.A. 817-22. We set forth only the facts relevant to the issues on appeal, as established by the witnesses who testified at McHone's trial.

Wendy Adams testified that at 12:30 a.m. on June 3, 1990 she, her husband Wesley Adams, Jr., their son Alex, and Wesley, Jr.'s parents Mildred Adams and Wesley Adams, Sr., returned to Mildred and Wesley, Sr.'s home after a day of fishing. Steven McHone, an occupant of the house, was already there. While getting Alex ready for bed, Wendy overheard Wesley, Sr. and Mildred arguing with McHone about money. Thereafter, Mildred came to their room inquiring about a missing pistol. Subsequently, Wesley, Jr. and Wendy heard three gunshots. As Wesley, Jr. went out into the hall to investigate, Wendy heard someone coming up the basement stairs and then overheard Wesley, Sr. tell Wesley, Jr. to call 911.

Wesley, Jr., a Captain in the United States Air Force, testified that while he was talking with the 911 operator he briefly saw McHone wrestling with Wesley, Sr. before they disappeared from sight. About a minute later, Wesley, Sr. reappeared and told Wesley, Jr. that his mother was "face down out back." As Wesley, Sr. approached Wesley, Jr., McHone appeared in the doorway and shot Wesley, Sr. in the chest with a shotgun. Wesley, Jr., after a lengthy scuffle, managed to disarm McHone. Thereafter, McHone cursed at Wesley, Jr. and threatened that if Wesley, Jr. did not kill him he would hunt Wesley, Jr. and his family down and "finish them off." McHone, 435 S.E.2d at 299.

McHone did not dispute that he killed Mildred and Wesley, Sr. and assaulted Wesley, Jr. Rather, he presented a voluntary intoxication defense, claiming that his consumption of alcohol and LSD prevented him from forming the requisite mental state for first degree murder. During sentencing, McHone presented his impaired mental state in mitigation. McHone attempted to establish his impairment through the testimony of Jimmy McMillian and Tammy Bryant.

McMillian testified that over the course of June 2, 1990 he and McHone split one and one-half pints of Jack Daniels and that, in addition, McHone drank a pitcher of beer. McMillian testified that McHone's physical and mental faculties were appreciably impaired because he had a "slushy mouth." Id. at 300.

Bryant, McHone's girlfriend, testified that she saw McHone on the evening of June 2 at a party at the home of Ronald Speaks. Bryant testified that, when McHone arrived at the party, his speech was slurred and that he was staggering. She further testified that McHone got into a fight while at the party and began "swinging a gun around in everyone's face, threatening everybody, moving real swiftly and quickly." When Bryant asked McHone "what he was on," McHone responded, "I have taken a couple of hits of acid." Id.

McHone also presented expert testimony from Dr. James Groce and Dr. John Frank Warren, III. Both testified that McHone had a serious substance abuse problem. Id. at 301. The state presented the testimony of Tammy Sawyers to rebut McHone's intoxication defense. Sawyers, who did not drink any alcohol on June 2, testified that she and McHone had a conversation while driving to Speaks' house and that McHone's speech was fine and that McHone was able to walk "fine" to and from her vehicle. She also testified that she was with McHone from 3:00 p.m. on June 2 until 2:00 a.m. the next morning, that she was never out of his presence for more than five minutes, and that she did not observe him take any controlled substances. Id.

The jury convicted McHone of two counts of first degree murder, one each for killing his mother, Mildred, and his step-father, Wesley, Sr. The jury also convicted McHone of one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, for his attack on his step-brother, Wesley, Jr.

After finding one aggravating factor and eleven mitigating factors as to the murder of Mildred, id. at 579-81, and two aggravating factors and ten mitigating factors as to the murder of Wesley, Sr., id. at 582-85, the jury recommended, and the trial court imposed, the death penalty for each first degree murder. McHone, 435 S.E.2d at 298. McHone unsuccessfully sought direct and post-conviction review in the North Carolina courts, id.; J.A. 731-775; State of North Carolina v. McHone, 350 N.C. 825, 539 S.E.2d 642 (1999), and his federal habeas petition was denied on the merits by the district court. J.A. 873. Pursuant to the certificate of appealability issued by this court, the instant appeal followed.

* * *

Judge Gregory's conclusion that McHone's counsel was ineffective for failing to present additional mitigating evidence relating to McHone's childhood is similarly untenable. As noted above, unlike in Wiggins where counsel did not present any evidence of mitigation, here counsel submitted ample evidence of the hardships McHone endured during his childhood and the jury credited this evidence when it found the related mitigating factors. Judge Gregory's description of counsels' actions and the purported prejudice therefrom simply fails to confront this fundamental point.

Judge Gregory suggests that a mitigation investigation "would have revealed" that "McHone has a history of chronic violence from birth through the divorce of his parents," that "McHone's childhood was marked by deprivation," that "McHone's parents agreed to an unconventional custody arrangement," and that "McHone self-medicated with drugs and alcohol from age 12." Post at 67-68.

But McHone's counsel presented this evidence to the jury. Bobby McHone testified that early in McHone's life that Bobby was continually drunk, "gave Mildred no peace whatsoever," that McHone witnessed his parents arguing, and that Mildred and Bobby agreed to an unconventional custody arrangement. J.A. 532-34. Moreover, as described in detail above, both Dr. Warren and Bobby McHone testified that McHone used drugs and alcohol from an early age and suffered various forms of deprivation.

Despite counsels' introduction of this substantial mitigating evidence, Judge Gregory maintains that counsels' mitigation investigation was inadequate because the jury might have been confused by the mitigating factor that McHone "enjoyed a normal childhood until the time his parents separated, and after that, he began using alcohol and drugs." But the phrasing of one mitigating factor does not bear on the propriety of the scope of counsels' mitigation investigation.

And, while Judge Gregory suggests that this mitigating factor could have caused the jury to conclude that McHone's childhood difficulties did not begin until his parents' divorce, he does not identify any evidence that rebuts Bobby McHone's testimony that from the time he quit drinking--when McHone was five years old--until the time he separated from Mildred--when McHone was ten years old--that there were "a few arguments" but that it "wasn't like it was when I was drinking." J.A. 534. V. For the reasons stated, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. AFFIRMED

GREGORY, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part.

* * *

The testimony at trial regarding McHone's level of impairment, from alcohol and possible drug use, varied. In general, the witnesses for the State (with the exception of Wesley, Jr., who never acknowledged that McHone had been drinking) testified that while McHone had been drinking, he was not "drunk" or intoxicated to the point that his actions were impaired. [FN10] Specifically, these witnesses testified as follows:

• Wendy Adams: Testified that when she first observed McHone at the house after they returned from the fishing trip, he walked normally (did not stagger or stumble) and made it up the steep basement steps. He did not slur his speech but was talking louder than normal. J.A. 122-23. Testified that she had undergone several hours of training in the Air Force to recognize whether an individual is impaired/under the influence. Id. at 151. Testified that Wesley, Sr. and Mildred did not talk to McHone in her presence about alcohol or him being drunk when they got home from the fishing trip. Id. at 159.

• William Kent Hall, First medical responder: Testified that when he was in the kitchen with Wesley, Sr.'s body, McHone called out to "Give me a cigarette." Id. at 164.

• Jimmy Inman, Deputy Sheriff, Surry County Sheriff's Department: Testified that he arrived shortly after 2:00 a.m., arrested McHone, and that McHone started "cussing" the Sheriff's department and stating "What have I done? Why did I do it?". Id. at 169-171. Testified that McHone recognized the "Air Care" helicopter as it flew in to pick up Mildred and that he stated "Oh, God, it's bad. There's Air Care." Id. at 172. Testified that he was able to hear and understand McHone's speech and that McHone was able to respond to his questions. Id. at 172-73. Testified that given his experience in law enforcement in observing drunk people, that McHone "was not drunk. He had been drinking." Id. at 179. He "define[d] drunk as a person's mental and physical capabilities are impaired to the point that he cannot walk, talk, or act in a proper fashion." Id. at 178. He stated that he based his opinion "on [McHone's] smell of alcohol about him, the way he talked to me, and the way he did walk." Id. at 180.

• Terry Miller, Detective, Surry County Sheriff's Department: Testified that when he entered the house McHone said, "Terry Miller, you pussy, I'll kill you too, you son-of-a-bitch ... I know what I've done, and I'll have to pay for it. Why don't you just shoot me and get it over with." Id. at 212. Testified that, "Based on the fact that he was able to identify me spontaneously when I entered the room, and I was not that personally acquainted with the man; the fact that I could clearly understand everything that he said; he was very much aware of everyone in his presence and called them by name; he was able to negotiate the steps in front of the house, walk to the patrol car; he was aware of the Air Care helicopter that came over near the same time that we arrived at the patrol car; .... Based on everything I observed there the man obviously had been drinking. In my opinion he was not so drunk he did not know what he was doing." Id. at 215.

• Larry Norman, Officer, Dobson Police Department: Testified that he observed McHone when he was brought into jail and that he did not slur or mumble his speech and could walk. Id. at 220. He testified that, "It was obvious in my opinion that he was drinking, intoxicated. But, he was not drunk as I would term drunk." Id. at 221.

• Wesley, Jr.: Testified that McHone was not slurring his speech during his fight with Mildred and Wesley, Sr. and was able to walk and negotiate the basement steps. Id. at 241-42. Testified that McHone seemed to be very aware of what was happening and that his answers to his parents questions were responsive. Id. at 251. Testified that he had training on several occasions in the Air Force on detecting alcohol impairment and that, "I neither heard, saw, or felt any type of impairment on his part, on the part of the defendant during that entire time." Id. at 282. He explained that, "By impairment I meant that any dysfunction of his physical movements; any slow movement, jerking, stumbling, tripping; any impairment in his voice characteristics by slurring his speech or not being able to finish a sentence; or not being able to recognize me. All the attributes that I looked at and dealt with in extremely close quarters, I did not see any impairment other than what any other normal person would do." Id. Testified that he did not notice any odor of alcohol on McHone that night and that "[t]he only indication that I had, the only mention of drinking at all during the argument was the fact that my father told him to go to bed and sleep it off." Id. at 290. Finally, the State presented witnesses who stated that Mildred told them that McHone threatened to kill Mildred when he was twelve to thirteen years old.

McHone presented two witnesses, McMillian and Bryant. McMillian testified to the amount of alcohol that he and McHone drank and that McHone was "mush-mouthed," and that his eyes were red and glassy. Id. at 314-27. Bryant testified in more detail. She stated that McHone was drunk and staggering when he arrived at the party at Speaks's house; that he was crying and fighting with people, swinging his gun around; and that McHone was real pale, sweating, and moving rapidly with wide eyes. Id. at 333-339. Bryant testified that later at the party she asked McHone what he was on and, "he told me that he was eating acid." Id. at 340.

The State presented Sawyers as its rebuttal witness. Sawyers testified to the sequence of events, described above, from the time she picked up McHone until she brought him back later that night. She testified that McHone was not slurring his words "much" when she brought him home that night and that he was coherent. Id. at 393.

When asked whether McHone was drunk in her opinion, she said, "I believe he was. I believe he was. I believe he was sober just a little bit. I mean, he wasn't real drunk, in my opinion, I've seen people drunker." Id. at 399. Yet, on cross-examination, Sawyers testified that McHone was steadily getting drunker throughout the night and was acting the most drunk while at Speaks's house. Id. at 400-01.

During the jury's deliberations, they twice asked the judge "to go over the law of murder of Wesley Adams, Sr., and six qualifying things that we need to prove for first degree murder." Id. at 474, 479. In response, the judge re-read the instructions. The jury returned a verdict finding McHone guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of both Mildred and Wesley, Sr.

The State did not present any new evidence during the sentencing phase. The defense presented expert testimony concerning McHone's history of substance abuse and diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed mood.

Dr. James Groce, the State's psychiatrist, testified to this diagnosis, but on cross-examination by the State testified that he had concluded in evaluating McHone that his "intoxication does not appear to be severe enough to make Mr. McHone unable to perform specific intent or to meet the standard for not being responsible for his behavior." Id. at 493.

Dr. John Warren, McHone's expert, testified that "at the time of the crime [McHone] was intoxicated or impaired, at least to the extent that people around him noticed that he smelled of alcohol and he was acting intoxicated." Id. at 503. However, he stated on cross-examination that he could not state how impaired McHone was and that "[o]ne drink will impair a person." Id. at 525.

Bobby McHone also testified as to McHone's childhood. He related how under a joint custody agreement between him and Mildred, McHone was exposed to his alcohol use and the related problems it caused in raising McHone. Id. at 530-546. A former neighbor of McHone testified that McHone helped her run errands and mow the lawn. Id. at 526-28.

Finally, a parent of one of McHone's former co-workers testified that McHone once helped her with her car. Id. at 528. The jury found fourteen mitigating factors to exist regarding the killing of Wesley, Sr., and eleven to exist regarding the killing of Mildred. [FN12]

However, for both murders, they also found that the aggravating circumstance that the murders were part of a course of conduct in which McHone engaged and that the course of conduct included the commission of other crimes of violence against others. Id. Additionally, they found another aggravating circumstance as to the murder of Wesley, Sr.-that the murder was committed while McHone was engaging in an attempt to commit a homicide on a person other than the deceased. [FN13] Id. They then found the aggravating circumstances to outweigh the mitigating circumstances and recommended that McHone be sentenced to death for both murders. Id.