Edward Lincoln King, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Edward Lincoln King’s capital murder conviction, holding that the trial court properly refused a limiting instruction on extraneous offenses, need not define ordinary terms in the punishment charge, and correctly declined to submit a circumstantial evidence charge regarding future violence. The Court relied on prior Texas precedent and the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Jurek v. Texas that the statutory issues guide the jury’s determination. Justice Roberts dissented, arguing that the refusal to give a circumstantial evidence charge violated federal rule United States v. Rodriguez, while Justice Phillips concurred, emphasizing the Court’s duty to assess sufficiency of evidence for the special issues.