Court Opinion

ID: 9771115
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 16:32:46.81278+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:25.285834
License: Public Domain

BAIRD, Judge,
concurring.
I concur with that portion of the majority opinion concluding the Texas death penalty scheme was unconstitutional as applied to applicant because the jury was not empowered to consider and give effect to applicant’s mental retardation and abusive background. Op. at 80. Had the majority opinion stopped at that point, there would be no need for this concurrence. However, the majority elected to address the merits of applicant’s additional claims. Op. at 80.
Additionally, applicant contended that the jury was prevented from considering and giving effect to his “relative youth” and his “religious and family allegiance” thereby causing the Texas death penalty scheme to operate in an unconstitutional manner as applied to him. There is no need for the majority to address applicant’s final two contentions as they are unnecessary to the disposition of this case. Therefore, I believe the majority’s resolution of those two claims to be purely dicta, adding nothing to the jurisprudence of this State. See, Gordon v. State, 801 S.W.2d 899, 917 (Tex.Cr.App.1990) (Baird, J., concurring).
With these comments, I concur in the result reached by the majority.