Opinion
NO. WR-71,296-03
06-05-2018
EX PARTE CLIFTON LAMAR WILLIAMS, Applicant
ON APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND MOTION TO STAY THE EXECUTION IN CAUSE NO. 114-1505-06 IN THE 114 JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT SMITH COUNTY Per curiam. ORDER
We have before us a post-conviction application for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to the provisions of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.071 § 5 and a motion to stay applicant's execution.
In October 2006, a jury convicted applicant of the July 2005 offense of capital murder for murdering a person in the course of committing or attempting to commit several felonies, including burglary of a habitation, robbery, or arson. TEX. PENAL CODE § 19.03(a)(2). The jury answered the special issues submitted pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 37.071, including a special issue on whether applicant is intellectually disabled, and the trial court, accordingly, set punishment at death. This Court affirmed applicant's conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Williams v. State, 270 S.W.3d 112 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).
On June 9, 2008, applicant filed in the convicting court his initial post-conviction application for a writ of habeas corpus in which he raised fourteen claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. This Court denied applicant relief. Ex parte Williams, No. WR-71,296-01 (Tex. Crim. App. Mar. 18, 2009)(not designated for publication). On July 15, 2015, applicant filed in the convicting court his first subsequent habeas application (our - 02), in which he raised an issue involving errors existing in the FBI-developed population database used for calculating match statistics with regard to DNA evidence. We remanded the writ application to the trial court. After reviewing the merits of the claim, the trial court recommended that relief be denied, and this Court agreed. Ex parte Williams, No. WR-71,296-02 (Tex. Crim. App. Sept. 20, 2017)(not designated for publication).
On May 23, 2018, applicant filed in the convicting court his second subsequent habeas application. In this application, applicant re-asserts that he is intellectually disabled and, therefore, not subject to execution. On March 28, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Moore v. Texas, 137 S. Ct. 1039, 1044 (2017). In light of the Moore decision and the facts presented in applicant's application, we find that applicant has satisfied the requirements of Article 11.071 § 5. We remand his application to the convicting court for a live hearing to further develop evidence and make a new recommendation to this Court on the issue of intellectual disability. Applicant's motion to stay his execution is granted.
IT IS SO ORDERED THIS THE 5 DAY OF JUNE, 2018. Do not publish