Cruz v. State

The appellant was tried before an El Paso county jury for capital murder. During the State’s closing argument, the following exchange occurred:

[The State]: They want to say first that it’s self-defense. Well, in order to have self-defense, what has to happen is someone says, “Yeah, I committed this crime. I committed this murder. I did this and I intended to do this because I was in fear of my life.”

[Defense Counsel]: Your Honor, we object. That is, number one, a comment on the Defendant’s right to remain silent. Number two, that is not the law. You can deny it. You can say it was an accident…