Kent Sprouse v. William Stephens, Director

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

A jury found Kent Sprouse guilty of the capital murder of a police officer, and he was sentenced to death. Among many other issues raised on direct appeal and on state habeas corpus review, Sprouse challenged the jury instructions given during the punishment phase of his trial. He claimed that the instructions, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, effectively precluded the jury from considering voluntary intoxication as mitigating evidence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“TCCA”) rejected that argument. On federal habeas review, Sprouse contends that the…