Opinion ID: 423527
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Juror Bowman.

Text: 136 O'Bryan's final complaint about the voir dire involves the exclusion of juror Bowman. Like Pfeffer, Bowman was originally unsure of his feelings about the death penalty, but on further questioning he stated that he could not vote for it. When asked about a crime closer to home, however, he said that he could consider the death penalty if the victim was one of [his] family. 3 Trial Transcript at 918. 137 We agree with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Bowman's response that he could impose the death penalty if a member of his family had been killed does not invalidate the trial court's excusal of him for cause. If the victim had been a member of Bowman's family, he would have been unable to serve as a juror because of his interest and prejudice in the case. O'Bryan, supra, 591 S.W.2d at 473 (citing Tex.Code Crim.Pro.Ann. art. 35.16 (Vernon 1966 & Supp.1983)). The statement that a person could impose the death penalty only in a case in which he or she would not be permitted to serve is virtually the equivalent of a statement that the juror would never vote in favor of capital punishment. 138