concurring in result.
One of the preservation issues raised by defendant relates to the applicability of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. ---, 100 L. Ed. 2d 384 (1988), to the unanimity requirement for mitigating circumstances in determining whether death is the appropriate punishment in a given case. This issue is now pending before the Supreme Court of the United States. See State v. McKoy, 323 N.C. 1, 372 S.E. 2d 12 (1988), cert. granted, — U.S. —, 103 L. Ed. 2d 180 (1989). While I believe that Mills is applicable to North Carolina, see State v. Lloyd, 321 N.C. 301, 364 S.E. 2d 316, vacated and remanded on other grounds, — U.S. —, 102 L. Ed. 2d 18, reinstated, 323 N.C. 622, 374 S.E. 2d 277 (1988), Exum, C.J., and Frye, J., dissenting, assuming error arguendo, I would find the error nonprejudicial under the peculiar circumstances of this case.