# Smallwood v. State

> Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · October 13, 1995 · 66 O.B.A.J. 3304

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9538802

## Case

- **Full name:** Dion Athanasius SMALLWOOD, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee
- **Court:** Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
- **Decided:** October 13, 1995
- **Citations:** 66 O.B.A.J. 3304; 907 P.2d 217; 1995 OK CR 60; 1995 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 66; 1995 WL 610770
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Chapel
- **Judges:** Lane, Johnson, Chapel, Lumpkin, Owens
- **Cited by:** 57 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9538802

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding prejudice is not presumed from trial court's written communication with jury after consulting with counsel
- noting that self-defense instruction depends on evidence to support it

## Opinion text

CHAPEL, Vice Presiding Judge,
specially concurring:
We continue to see case after case where the jury sends a note to the trial judge during deliberations inquiring about the possibility of parole. The reason why jurors repeatedly ask this question is because they are confused. They want, need, and deserve an answer. I continue to believe we should fashion an instruction which clarifies this issue for the jury. 1 I am concerned about the ramifications of our failure to do so since it seems clear to me that some jurors may be voting for a death sentence only because they believe that life without parole really does not mean life without parole.
I therefore concur based on stare decisis.
. See Mayes v. State, 887 P.2d 1288, 1324-25 (Okl.Cr.1994) (Chapel, J., dissenting), or McGregor v. State, 885 P.2d 1366, 1383 (Okl.Cr.1994) where I discuss this issue.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9538802. Public record. Not legal advice.