In a ruling that could affect nearly every death row inmate in the state, the North Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the practice of using indictments without aggravating factors in murder cases. The ruling came in the case of death row inmate Henry Lee Hunt. Hunt’s attorneys had argued that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Ring v. Arizona, failure to include aggravating factors in first-degree murder indictments is a violation of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Grand juries issue indictments to inform defendants of specific charges, allowing for the preparation of a defense and preventing the state from convicting the defendant of something else. All of the prisoners on the state’s death row were convicted in cases using a short-form indictment. (Herald Sun, July 16, 2003). Executions in the state were stayed as the North Carolina Supreme Court considered this case. See Supreme Court.