Robert Smith, A.k.a., Robert Lee Johnson, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed the conviction and death sentence of Robert Smith, holding that the trial court correctly admitted evidence of the prior robbery, excluded the State's plea‑offer evidence, admitted fingerprint evidence, properly limited the jury's consideration of the extraneous offense, and was not required to instruct the jury on parole eligibility under the Due Process Clause. Separate opinions by Judges Clinton, Mansfield, Baird, and Mansfield dissented or concurred in part, arguing that the jury should have been allowed to consider the statutory minimum parole eligibility as relevant to future dangerousness.