Stallworth v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama
Stallworth v. State, 868 So. 2d 1189 (Ala. 2003)
2003 Ala. LEXIS 210; 2003 WL 21480663
Stuart, Moore, Houston, See, Lyons, Brown, Harwood, Woodall, Johnstone

Stallworth v. State

Dissenting Opinion

JOHNSTONE, Justice

(dissenting).

In my opinion, we should grant the petition on the single issue, a question of first impression, of whether a single prior conviction for assault in the third degree can negate the § 13A-5-51(l), Ala.Code 1975, mitigating circumstance of no significant history of prior criminal activity. The Court of Criminal Appeals decided this question of first impression in the affirmative in Stallworth’s case, Stallworth v. State, 868 So.2d 1128, 1174 (Ala.Crim.App. 2001). Stallworth raises this issue at pages 28-30 of his petition and pages 51-52 of his brief.

Socking someone in a fistfight can constitute assault in the third degree. I respectfully submit that this offense is too trivial to negate this statutory mitigating circumstance and thereby to play such a pivotal role in causing a defendant’s death.

Opinion of the Court

STUART, Justice.

WRIT DENIED.

MOORE, C.J., and HOUSTON, SEE, LYONS, BROWN, HARWOOD, and WOODALL, JJ., concur. JOHNSTONE, J., dissents.

Reference

Full Case Name
Ex parte Calvin STALLWORTH. (In re Calvin Stallworth v. State of Alabama)
Cited By
8 cases
Status
Published