Robert Mitchell Jennings v. Texas
DueProcess HabeasCorpus Punishment
Did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals deny Jennings equal protection of the law by dismissing on procedural grounds subsequent habeas corpus applications raising a Penry claim where it has granted relief to other subsequent habeas applicants on fundamentally indistinguishable claims in death penalty cases?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals deny Jennings equal protection of the law by dismissing on procedural grounds subsequent habeas corpus applications raising a Penry claim where it has granted relief to other subsequent habeas applicants on fundamentally indistinguishable claims in death penalty cases? 2. Did the unconstitutional nullification instruction prevent the jury from fully considering and giving effect to mitigating evidence of Jennings’ substance abuse and remorse?