In State v. Adams, 347 N.C. 48, 65-66, 490 S.E.2d 220, 229 (1997), our Supreme Court held that a mistrial was not warranted where the State inadvertently elicited testimony from a defense witness that defendant had been previously sentenced to death. While the State was attempting to establish the length of time in which the defendant knew the testifying witness, the witness stated he knew defendant when he was on death row. Id. at 64, 490 S.E.2d at 228. The statement was made in a "fairly offhand way without the intent to emphasize it to the jury." Id. at 64, 490 S.E.2d at 228. Incidentally, the Court noted that it did not appear from the record that the prosecutor had any improper motive or that it intentionally elicited the information. Id. at 66, 490 S.E.2d at 229.