Summary of State v. English, 201 N.C. 295 (1931)

Facts:  D was charged with murdering his wife.  D wanted to introduce out-of-court confession of some person who claimed that he killed the wife and his description of the crime scene accurate.  But trial court excluded this evidence.

Issue:  Was the confession admissible evidence?

Holding: No

Rationale:  Out-of-court confession was hearsay because it was not taken under oath so not reliable.  Confession hearsay because it is admitted to show the truth of the matter asserted (that the confessor was the killer and not D).  So this is pure hearsay and not admissible evidence.

HEARSAY:  Out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.