Stultz v. State

OPINION

DOUGLAS, Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction for murder with malice. The jury assessed punishment at death.

Appellant first contends that the imposition of the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346, and Branch v. Texas, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346. However, the record reflects that, subsequent to the Supreme Court’s opinion, appellant’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by order of the…