Kenneth Julian Palafox, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas held that the State failed to meet its burden to disprove exculpatory statements in the appellant's confession, rendering the evidence insufficient to support a capital murder conviction; the conviction was reversed and the case remanded. The opinion relied on the rule that a confession containing exculpatory statements binds the State unless rebutted, and noted that the non‑confessional evidence did not meet the required burden. Two dissenting opinions argued that the exculpatory‑statement rule is unsound and that the judgment should be affirmed.