Smith v. State

Our holdings in Farr v. State, 519 S.W.2d 876 (Tex.Cr.App.1975), and Sherman v. State, 532 S.W.2d 634 (Tex.Cr.App.1976), stand for the proposition that where an accused alleges that his confession was coerced, someone who was present when the alleged coercive acts took place must take the stand and refute the allegations of the accused; that if none who were present are called by the State, their absence must be explained; and that if neither of the above occurs, the allegedly coerced confession is inadmissible as a matter of law.

In the cases at bar, FBI agent Thomas did not testify that he…