Anderson Hughes, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed Anderson Hughes' conviction and death sentence, holding that the appeal was not abated by the trial court's sentence pronouncement, that repealed Article 1257 was inapplicable, that Texas's death penalty scheme does not violate the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendments, that the exclusion of jurors was proper under Section 12.31(b) and not a Witherspoon error, that the trial court correctly limited voir dire on psychiatric testimony, that the confession was voluntary, that no jury charge on voluntariness was required, and that the psychiatric testimony on future violence was not reversible error. Justice Phillips dissented, arguing the Witherspoon issue was mishandled.