McGowen v. Thaler

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MELINDA HARMON, District Judge.

Roger Wayne McGowen, a Texas inmate incarcerated under a capital conviction and death sentence, has filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus. McGowen’s petition claims that error infected both his conviction and sentence. Respondent seeks summary judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that constitutional error in the punishment phase jury instructions require that Texas either (1) commute his sentence to one of life imprisonment or (2) hold a new sentencing hearing. This Court’s review of the record, the…