James Russell, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the capital murder conviction and death sentence of James Russell, holding that the evidence established the corpus delicti, that the jury was properly qualified under the Witherspoon test, and that the trial court did not err on any of the appellant's asserted grounds of error, including speedy trial, grand jury challenges, indictment sufficiency, accomplice instruction, extraneous evidence, and expert testimony. The Court found the evidence sufficient to support the special issues required for a death penalty. Justice Clinton dissented, contending that the Witherspoon doctrine should not apply to the bifurcated capital sentencing procedure.