Clark, Troy

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 7, 2014
• Docket: WR-55,996-02
• Status: Published

Opinion

Death Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

OF TEXAS

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NO. WR-55,996-02

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EX PARTE TROY CLARK

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ON APPLICATION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

CAUSE NO. 007-81708-98 IN THE 7^TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

FROM SMITH COUNTY

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Alcala, J., filed a concurring statement.

CONCURRING STATEMENT

           Largely for the reasons expressed by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Clark v. Thaler, I join this Court’s order dismissing the subsequent application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Troy Clark, applicant. See Clark v. Thaler, 673 F.3d 410, 422 (5th Cir. 2012). Applicant murdered at least three people and, at the punishment phase of his capital murder trial, took the stand and asked the jury to give him a death sentence. The additional mitigation evidence he presents today is not so different in character from what he presented in his earlier application as to warrant a different determination on the prejudice prong of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). Furthermore, given applicant’s behavior on the witness stand at the punishment phase, during which he continued to deny his guilt, expressed no remorse, and asked the jury to give him the death penalty, it is improbable that the presentation of mitigation evidence relating to his troubled childhood and cognitive deficits would have persuaded the jury to sentence him to life instead of death. Although current habeas counsel presents important legal questions that should be answered by this Court in an appropriate case, I cannot conclude that this is such a case.

Filed: May 7, 2014

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