Betty Lou Beets, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas reversed Betty Lou Beets' capital murder conviction and remanded for entry of an acquittal on the capital murder charge. The majority held that the indictment sufficiently alleged the statutory elements, that the State failed to prove the remuneration element, and that the accomplice testimony was properly corroborated. The decision rests on a narrow construction of the term “remuneration” as requiring a hiring relationship.