Donald Leroy Stavinoha, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' judgment that testimony describing the psychological trauma suffered by the child victim and his mother was admissible at the punishment phase as evidence of the defendant's personal responsibility and moral guilt. The majority relied on its prior decisions in Miller‑El and Murphy to support this policy‑based relevance analysis. A concurring judge agreed with the result but cautioned against extending the admissibility rationale to the mother’s trauma. Justice Teague dissented.