David Lee Lewis v. State Texas

After a trial held in April 1987, an Angelina County jury found appellant, David Lee Lewis, guilty of the November 1986 capital murder of a female, M R . The aggravating element of the murder was provided by appellants commission of it while in the course of burglarizing a habitation. See Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). At the punishment phase, the jury answered affirmatively the punishment issues set forth in Article 37.071(b) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, and appellant was sentenced to death. Direct appeal to this Court was then automatic under Article 37.071(h). We will reverse appellants conviction and remand the cause for a new trial.