Theran Noble Ayers v. State Texas

On original submission a panel of this Court found the trial courts charge on guilt/innocence to be fundamentally defective. Specifically, the panel held that the court fundamentally erred in (1) failing to require as a prerequisite to a conviction for murder a finding beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was not acting under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause, and (2) requiring as a prerequisite for a conviction for the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter a finding beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was acting under the immediate influence of sudden passion. The state has filed a motion for rehearing urging that appellant is not entitled to a reversal because he himself requested the charge given by the court.