Supreme Court of Alabama, 2003

Stallworth v. State

Stallworth v. State
Supreme Court of Alabama · Decided June 27, 2003 · Stuart, Moore, Houston, See, Lyons, Brown, Harwood, Woodall, Johnstone
868 So. 2d 1189; 2003 Ala. LEXIS 210; 2003 WL 21480663 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

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.

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