Defendant was convicted in the 28th Judicial District Court, Nueces County, Walter Dunham, Jr., J., of capital murder, and sentenced to death, and he appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Miller, J., held that: (1) witness was not accomplice witness; (2) evidence was sufficient to support finding that defendant caused death of victim deliberately, though there was evidence that defendant was under influence of LSD at time of murder; and (3) evidence was sufficient to support finding that defendant would commit future acts of violence and be continuing threat to society. Affirmed. Clinton and Teague, JJ., filed dissenting opinions.

MILLER, Judge.

This is an appeal taken from a conviction for capital murder. V.T.C.A. Penal Code, § 19.03. The death penalty was imposed after the jury answered affirmatively the special issues submitted under Art. 37.071, V.A.C.C.P. Appellant brings twelve grounds of error before this Court. We affirm.

Appellant's first eight grounds of error concern the laws regarding accomplice witnesses, whether one of the witnesses was an accomplice witness, and the trial court's charge to the jury on these matters. In order to dispose of these grounds, as well as other grounds raised by appellant, a brief recitation of the facts is necessary.

The record shows that on August 11, 1984, at approximately 6:00 p.m., appellant and his three co-defendants, Lora Lee Zaiontz, Russell Stanley and Aaron Adkins, left San Antonio to go to Corpus Christi. Appellant was 17 years old at the time of the offense. Tom Sauls, who was not indicted for any offense stemming from these activities, was also present. Sauls believed that the five were going to the beach to "party."

All five individuals were under the influence of alcohol and L.S.D. at the time. While en route to their destination, Stanley removed a loaded .22 caliber pistol from the glove compartment of the car, and fired it into the air while asking Adkins if he wanted to make money. Sauls told Stanley that "guns and acid don't mix," whereupon Stanley returned the gun to the glove compartment. Stanley removed the gun several other times.

Stanley and Adkins discussed committing robbery, and several times they slowed down to evaluate the chances of committing robbery upon the occupants of cars parked on the roadside. Although Sauls was within hearing distance of the discussions, he did not take part in them. After arriving in Corpus Christi, the five drove to the beach. Appellant and Zaiontz, his girlfriend, kept to themselves while Stanley, Adkins and Sauls walked together and discussed robbing someone. Sauls was present, but did not contribute to the discussion.

The five left the beach and went to a convenience store to buy some beer. There, Stanley and Adkins robbed a man in a phone booth at gunpoint, and obtained seven dollars. Appellant and the other two persons remained in the car while the robbery took place, but could not see the actual robbery. Sauls did not participate in the robbery or share in its proceeds. Next, the five left the convenience store and drove around looking for someone else to rob. They spotted Stephen Horton, the deceased, walking along the road. Adkins drove the car up beside Horton and Zaiontz asked Horton if he wanted a ride. Horton replied that he lived only a few blocks away, but was finally persuaded to enter the car. Horton got in the front seat, next to Zaiontz.

Stanley put a gun to the back of Horton's head and told him to give them his wallet. When Horton turned to look at Stanley, Zaiontz stuck her nails into the side of his face and told him to look forward. Appellant told Stanley to kill Horton, but Stanley refused because Stanley *438 did not believe that a killing was necessary. Stanley just wanted to "beat [Horton's] ass."

Appellant then took the gun away from Stanley, stuck it up against Horton's head and said, "We're going to take you back here and blow your brains out." Adkins drove the car behind a skating rink, and appellant shot Horton in the back of the head. They opened the car door, pushed the body out, and Zaiontz took Horton's wallet. After shooting Horton, appellant stated "another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath." [FN1] Later, he also stated that the murder was beautiful. FN1. The record shows that these words are lyrics from a song.

After the murder, Sauls "freaked out on the whole thing and just sat there scared." Sauls stated that when he complained about the murder and said that they did not have to kill Horton, Stanley pointed the gun at Sauls' head and told him "[I]f you don't shut up, I am going to shoot you, too." Sauls stated that he "shut up, and ... just sat there and stared out the window the rest of the way home." The others acted as though nothing had happened as they drove back to San Antonio. When they arrived in San Antonio, the five spent the night in the same place.

The next day, they went to Canyon Lake. When asked why Sauls went with the others to the lake, he stated: "Because I didn't--well, I thought it would be awful strange for me not to, because we did everything else together. It was sort of keeping an eye on me so I wouldn't go to the police." Sauls also testified that he was afraid to call the police. He was later contacted by Austin police officers, and told them everything that happened. Sauls was never arrested or charged with any offense arising out of the murder.

* * * *

9. "If you find from the evidence that the witness, Tom Sauls, was an accomplice, or you have a reasonable doubt thereof, then you are instructed that if you find beyond a reasonable doubt that an offense was committed, you cannot convict the Defendant, Troy Kunkle, of capital murder upon the testimony of Tom Sauls unless you first believe that his testimony is true and shows that the Defendant is guilty as charged; and even then you cannot convict the Defendant unless you *443 further believe that there is other evidence in this case, outside the testimony of Tom Sauls, tending to connect the Defendant with the offense committed, if you find that an offense was committed and tending to establish that the Defendant, Troy Kunkle, intentionally caused the death of Stephen Horton by shooting him with a firearm in the course of committing robbery of Stephen Horton, and then from all the evidence you must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant is guilty of capital murder.

The corroboration, if any, is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of the offense, but it must tend to connect the Defendant with its commission and tend to establish that the Defendant intentionally caused the death of Stephen Horton by shooting him with a firearm in the course of committing robbery of Stephen Horton."

* * * *

We find that when the facts of the offense are considered in conjunction with the evidence presented at the punishment stage of trial, there was evidence from which a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant would commit future acts of violence and be a continuing threat to society. C.f. generally Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 102 S.Ct. 869, 71 L.Ed.2d 1 (1982). Appellant's eleventh ground of error is overruled. The judgment is affirmed.

Ex parte Kunkle, 852 S.W.2d 499 (Tex.Cr.App. 1993). (State Habeas)