Steven Anthony Butler, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence, holding that the trial court correctly handled the Batson issue by dismissing only the mini‑panel, properly granted challenges for cause, properly denied a voluntariness instruction, properly admitted the medical examiner's testimony, and found no ineffective assistance of counsel. The dissent argued that the entire array should have been dismissed, while a concurrence agreed with the result but noted limits on the admissibility of the autopsy report.