Estelle V. Smith - Background

Background

Ernest Benjamin Smith was indicted for murder for taking part in the armed robbery of a grocery store during which his accomplice fatally shot a clerk. The State of Texas announced its intention to seek the death penalty and the trial judge ordered a competency evaluation of Smith after Smith's indictment and after he had obtained counsel. The evaluation was conducted in the jail by Dr. James P. Grigson who determined that Smith was competent to stand trial. Defense counsel were aware after the fact that Dr. Grigson interviewed Smith when they saw the psychiatric report in the form of a letter filed with the court. In this letter, Dr. Grigson termed Smith "a severe sociopath," but no more specific statements as to Smith's future dangerousness.

Smith was tried by a jury and convicted. The same jury heard a separate sentencing proceeding as required by Texas law. One of the three issues the jury had to determine was the future dangerousness of the defendant and whether he would continue to pose a threat to society. Over the defense counsel's objections, the doctor who conducted the pretrial competency evaluation was allowed to testify and his opinion was that Smith continued to be dangerous and thus would continue to constitute a danger to society. The jury determined the issue of the defendant's dangerousness as well as the other two issues against the defendant, making the death penalty mandatory under Texas law.