Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Re: Sentencing is the job of judges

Except in capitol [death penalty] cases, the judge always imposes the sentence. That is because the law under which one is convicted contains the sentencing provisions or range, and legal matters are for the judge not the jury.

The conviction is the province of the jury, as they determine factual matters which is their traditional function. They are instructed that they are not to consider the penalty or sentence, as that is the court's function.

In capitol cases the jury may decide whether or not the death penalty is imposed, thus making them in this one instance only the deciders of the penalty.