Thomas v. Savage

The State of Texas appeals the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus upon the application of petitioner, Walter Thomas, Jr., pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1970). Petitioner was convicted in a jury trial of robbery by assault in 1968. Under Texas bifurcated system of criminal trials, the same jury then proceeded with the punishment stage of the trial and sentenced Thomas to a term of 99 years. One of his codefendants received the same sentence, a second received 85 years. During this punishment stage five prior convictions of petitioner were introduced by the State. Four were felony convictions; the fifth, at issue here, was a 1964 misdemeanor conviction for aggravated assault.