Court Opinion

ID: 9778822
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 21:21:47.011841+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:13.515707
License: Public Domain

WOODLEY, Judge
(dissenting).
After the jury had agreed that appellant was guilty as charged and while they were discussing the punishment to be assessed, “various members of the jury made observation concerning the pardon policy. One said he thought the defendant could get off after serving two-thirds of his time, and others said other periods of time * * *
“Some jurors stated that if he were assessed five years he would serve it in eighteen months.”
“Various people made observations about what they had heard concerning time off for good behavior, and we all generally agreed that the defendant would not have to serve the entire five years.” (Quotations are from the evidence adduced at the hearing on motion for new trial.)
There is not the least suggestion that any juror knew or claimed to know what calendar time would be required to serve a five-year-sentence in the penitentiary. At most, some one or more jurors thought such a sentence could be served in eighteen months.
*318In Salcido v. State, 167 Tex. Cr. Rep. 173, 319 S.W. 2d 329, a juror stated that the defendant “would serve approxicately one-third of the time to which he was sentenced by the jury’s verdict.” As applied to a five year term, the juror’s statement was that defendant would serve approximately 20 months. This court said that such statement was predicated upon the contingency that the inmate would secure time off for good behavior and affirmed the judgment.
It thus appears that if a juror states that the defendant will serve a five-year-sentence in approximately 20 months the verdict will be upheld, but if his statement is that the defendant would serve such sentence in 18 months the verdict will be set aside. I cannot accept as valid the nice distinction.
The trial judge did not abuse his discretion in overruling the motion for new trial and his judgment should not be overturned.