Paul Jackson Luck, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the murder conviction and life sentence, rejecting all six of appellant Luck's grounds of error, including claims of perjured testimony, improper admission of photographs, failure to submit a voluntary manslaughter charge, self‑defense charge, extraneous offense instruction, and circumstantial evidence charge. The majority held that the evidence did not support a voluntary manslaughter instruction, that the photographs were admissible, and that the self‑defense charge correctly placed the burden on the State. Justice Phillips, dissenting, argued that the evidence did raise the issue of voluntary manslaughter and that the majority improperly overruled prior authority.