Legal Question: Is this inmate being held illegally at TDCJ? He entered a plea of no contest to aggravated assault – bodily injury.

The caption on the indictment reflects states that the charged offense was “aggravated assault-bodily injury.” In the body of the indictment, it says “alleged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.” However, the appellant waived the reading of the indictment and the trial court, both orally and in writing, admonished appellant that the offense with which he was charged was “aggravated assault-serious bodily injury.”

There is no mention in any of the documents contained in the clerk’s record-except the body of the indictment-or any discussion in any of the reporter’s records of a deadly weapon until the State filed its motion for judgment Nunc pro tunc. The 14th Court of Appeals vacated and set aside the Nunc pro tunc judgment and reinstated and affirmed the original judgment and sentence of 15 years.

Answer:

No, the inmate is not being held illegally. The appellate court defeated the prosecutor’s attempt to add a “deadly weapon” to the original judgment when it vacated and set aside the Nunc Pro Tunc.  That’s a good thing because adding the deadly weapon finding to the judgment would have seriously hurt his ability to make parole.

As it is, he will probably have to serve close to 50% of his time before he’s eligible for parole. Recommend he stays out of trouble, takes lots of education classes, bible study, and goes to drug or alcohol treatment or 12 step meetings while in prison to help his chances of making parole sooner rather than later.