Court Opinion

ID: 9640058
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:56:17.709845+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:25.832388
License: Public Domain

BAIRD, Judge,
concurring.
Appellant has been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. See, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03. The appeal of that conviction and sentence is presently pending before this Court. See, Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 37.071. The instant petition was necessary because the State seeks to try appellant for another, separate capital offense and, if successful in that prosecution, the State will seek a second death sentence.
The majority grapples with appellant’s double jeopardy claim and concludes this subsequent prosecution is not jeopardy barred because appellant was not punished at his earlier trial for the offense giving rise *29to the instant prosecution. Majority op. p. 28. That conclusion is unquestionably correct under all relevant authority.
In my view, a more persistent question remains: What is to be gained by this subsequent prosecution? Today, there are nearly 400 inmates on death row in Texas. Since Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972) (decided in conjunction with Branch v. Texas), Texas has carried out more executions than any other State. There seems little doubt that our death row population will continue to grow and that our executions will increase in number. However, this will not occur without great costs to our already burdened criminal justice system. The average inmate serves ten years on death row prior to his execution. Jackie Koszczuk, Group blasts Texas in death penalty study, Fort Worth Star Telegram, January 14, 1993 (quoting Ron Dusek, spokesman for Texas Attorney General). There is general agreement that the average costs of a capital murder prosecution exceeds $2,000,000.00. Jim Mattox, Texas’ death penalty dilemma, Dallas Morning News, August 25,1993. But there are additional, non-financial, costs involved.
A capital murder prosecution consumes the time of the trial judge and the prosecutors as well as the time of the clerk, bailiff, jailer and court reporter. These public servants are not able to discharge their other duties while the court is in session ruling on motions, selecting a jury and trying the case. Such prosecutions also require the testimony of many police officers, investigators, medical examiners, criminologists and others who will spend countless hours preparing their testimony, waiting to testify and eventually testifying. Instead of protecting the streets and neighborhoods, seeking solutions for unsolved crimes, interviewing witnesses, or preparing for other trials, those various public servants bide their time at the courthouse. All of these individuals are compensated from public funds.
Unfortunately, these are not the only participants involved in such a trial. Hundreds of citizens will be summoned to court as potential jurors. Their time is consumed sitting around the courthouse where countless hours will be wasted while they wait to be questioned by the parties and judge. During this time, these potential jurors are away from their work and homes, losing income and valuable time with their families. From these hundreds of citizens, no less than twelve will be chosen to serve on the jury. The jurors suffer the hardship of spending weeks and perhaps months away from their families and jobs.
Apparently, there exists no scarceness of judicial resources in Harris County; nor can there be a shortage of prosecutors or peace officers. This subsequent capital murder prosecution of appellant will apprise the Legislature that no more courts are needed in Harris County and no additional funds will be requested for more police officers or other similar public servants.
Finally, one must ask what effect will a second death sentence have? Will one who already resides on death row be deterred? Will others be deterred by knowing that if they commit two capital crimes, they will be executed not once but twice? Such questions are left to be answered by others — either the elected district and county attorneys of this State who decide when to seek the death penalty, or the voters to whom those prosecutors are ultimately accountable. All the while, we spend our time, efforts and resources addressing issues raised by a man already condemned to die.
With these observations, I join the majority opinion.