Jurek v. Texas

This case determined that the death penalty, if applied fairly and without discrimination, was not considered cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore was not an infringement on an individual's constitutional rights as put forth in the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

In 1976 Jerry Lane Jurek, 22 years of age, was charged by indictment with the murder of Wendy Adams, a ten-year-old girl. The murder was considered quite brutal, Jurek "choking and strangling her with his hands, and . . . drowning her in water by throwing her into a river . . . in the course of committing and attempting to commit kidnapping of and forcible rape . . . " Evidence against Jurek was quite convincing, and included the testimony of several people who saw him with the victim on the day of her murder, technical evidence, and incriminating statements made by the petitioner himself. This evidence indicated that the petitioner, while drinking beer with two friends and driving his truck, had expressed an interest in having sexual relations with some young girls they saw. After his friends stated that the girls were too young, Jurek dropped them off at a pool hall, then returned and was seen talking to Wendy Adams at a public swimming pool. Witnesses stated that a man resembling Jurek was later seen driving out of town at a high rate of speed with a girl matching Adam's description in the bed of the truck; the girl was screaming "help me, help me." According to Jurek's own statement, he took the girl to the river, choked her and disposed of the unconscious body in the water. The girl's dead body was found two days later.

The jury found Jurek guilty. During the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury had to consider two of three specific questions before rendering a judgment that could result in a capital sentence: 1) Was the conduct of the defendant that led to the death of the deceased committed deliberately with death as the ultimate goal? and 2) Should the defendant be considered a threat to society because he was likely to commit other acts of violence? The third question, concerning whether the defendant's conduct was an unreasonable response to provocation by the deceased, was not considered.

Texas statutes maintained that if the jury found that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the answer to each question was "yes," then the death sentence would be imposed. If the answer to any question was "no," then the defendant faced life imprisonment. In the case of Jurek v. Texas the jury unanimously voted "yes" for both questions presented. The judge sentenced Jerry Lane Jurek to death.