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Court allows limited expert testimony about defendant's rap lyrics; jury rejects "sudden passion" and imposes 80-year sentence
Summary
During the punishment phase the prosecution and defense disputed whether a rap song titled "The Race" could be used as evidence. The judge allowed the state to ask an expert about the lyrics, ruling the probative value outweighed prejudice. The jury found no "sudden passion" and sentenced the defendant to 80 years in prison with no fine.
A Bexar County jury on Wednesday rejected a defense claim of "sudden passion" and assessed an 80-year prison term against the defendant after hearing mitigation and victim-impact testimony and a contested hearing over admission of rap lyrics.
Judge Stephanie Boyd allowed the state to question the defense's expert about the defendant's song "The Race," concluding the potential probative value on the issue of flight and the defendant's state of mind outweighed prejudice. The judge said she had not previously heard the song and would review the evidence presented at the hearing before making any broader evidentiary rulings. "This is the way it's gonna be done," the judge told counsel when the state sought to ask the expert whether he had reviewed the…
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