Valdez v. State

*1178OPINION

By the Court,

Hardesty, J.:

A jury convicted appellant James Valdez of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Contrary to constitutional and statutory procedures requiring a separate penalty trial, when the jury returned the guilty verdict, it also announced that it had decided the sentence. Valdez subsequently agreed to waive his right to a penalty hearing. He stipulated to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and an equal and consecutive term for the use of a deadly weapon. In…