The statutes defining homicide in Texas are complicated and prone to misunderstanding. Many people interchangeably use terms such as “homicide,” “murder,” and “manslaughter” without fully understanding their differences.
While other states define crimes as “first-degree murder” and “second-degree murder,” Texas classifies the offenses as murder, capital murder, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide. Each crime has different penalties, ranging from a few years in prison to life imprisonment or even the ultimate death penalty, depending on the magnitude of the crime and the case circumstances.
If you are charged with any form of murder in Texas, your life and freedom are at stake. In this blog, we will discuss the differences between murder, manslaughter, and homicide under Texas law.
Homicide Charges in Texas
While homicide is not a crime in and of itself, it is a term used to describe crimes that are committed with the intent, carelessness, knowledge, or criminal negligence to cause the death of a person. There are four charges classified under Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 19:
- Murder (Section 19.02)
- Capital murder (Section 19.03)
- Manslaughter (Section 19.04)
- Criminally negligent homicide (Section 19.05)
What is Murder?
Under Texas law, you can be accused of murder if you:
- Knowingly or intentionally cause someone’s death.
This is what many people consider when discussing murder. Someone perpetrates an act that leads to another person’s death. It might involve stabbing them, shooting them, poisoning them, or suffocating them—the means of committing the murder does not matter. When you deliberately or consciously undertake an action that results in another person’s death, then it becomes murder.
There are circumstances where killing someone can be justifiable, for example, when it is a matter of self-defense, protecting another individual, or specific types of property defense. However, unless a particular defense is applicable, any deliberate killing of another individual is murder.
- Intend to inflict severe bodily harm and perpetrate an act that is harmful to human life, resulting in someone’s death.
This subsection addresses actions where an individual might not have intended to kill someone, yet the act they committed was so risky that they can still face murder charges. For example, Nate strikes Matthew on the head with a bat during a fight. Nate only intended to inflict serious injuries on Matthew, and not to kill him, but the strike to the head caused Matthew’s skull to fracture, resulting in his death. Nate’s blow fractured Matthew’s skull, causing serious bodily injury.”
Also, swinging a bat at someone’s head is “an action that is evidently harmful to human life.” Although Nate did not mean to kill Matthew, he can still face murder charges because he purposefully acted in a way that was so harmful or dangerous to Matthew’s life.
Another example could involve an individual shooting a firearm into an empty structure and unintentionally killing a homeless person resting inside. That individual could face murder charges, since shooting a weapon at a structure is “an action harmful to a human’s life.” Even absent intent to kill, knowingly engaging in an act that endangers human life constitutes murder.
- Engage in or try to engage in a felony, and during the act, or while fleeing, do something that poses an obvious danger to human life, resulting in the death of a person.
This section describes “felony murder.” Felony murder happens when an individual is engaging in, attempting to engage in, or fleeing from an attempt or the commission of a felony and perpetrates an act that is harmful to human life, resulting in someone’s death.
For example, three individuals steal from a bank and engage the police in a car chase. While being pursued, the driver goes through a red light and collides with another vehicle, resulting in the death of another driver. Each of the three individuals can face murder charges as they were escaping from committing a felony and committed acts that posed a significant danger to human life, which led to another person’s death. Although none of the thieves might have intended for anyone to be injured, they can still face murder charges.
- Intentionally produce or supply fentanyl, resulting in an individual’s death due to its consumption.
The state of Texas enacted the Fentanyl Murder law after numerous overdose fatalities were linked to fentanyl. If you produce or provide fentanyl to someone else and that individual passes away, you could face murder charges. It does not matter if you meant for the individual to die or not.
Penalties For Murder in Texas
Murder under Texas law is a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of 5 Years to life imprisonment/99 years, and a maximum fine of $10,000. It is classified as a 3G offense, meaning that an individual found guilty of murder must complete at least half of their term or 30 years (whichever sentence is shorter) before the court grants them parole.
Sometimes, murder can also be charged as a second-degree felony (meaning 2 to 20 years in prison rather than 5 years to life in prison). If an individual is found guilty of murder but, during the sentencing phase, the jury determines that the crime was carried out “under the direct influence of sudden passion from an adequate cause,” the punishment range lowers to second degree. “Sudden passion” in Texas is “voluntary manslaughter” in other states.
An example of this offense is when a person kills someone else after discovering that person in bed with their partner.
Capital Murder Under Texas Law
Texas is widely recognized as a state that enforces the death penalty. However, not all murders result in a possible death penalty. Texas law explicitly differentiates between murder and capital murder.
Capital murder is essentially murder that includes one or more specific circumstances. You can face charges for capital murder if:
- You took the life of a firefighter or police officer carrying out their responsibilities, and you knew that they were a firefighter or police officer while committing the murder
- You carried out the murder while engaging in–or trying to engage in another felony, like rape or burglary
- Someone hired you to commit the murder
- You killed someone while attempting to flee from prison.
- You are currently incarcerated and have killed a prison staff member.
- You killed several individuals in a single “criminal transaction.”
- Your victim was 15 years old or below.
- You killed someone in revenge for a judge’s actions.
A conviction for capital murder does not necessarily result in the death penalty. If, for example, you were younger than 18 when you carried out this offense, the mandatory sentence is life imprisonment. For adults aged 18 and older, a jury may choose to impose a sentence of either death or life in prison without the chance of going on parole in situations where the State requested the death penalty.
What is Manslaughter?
Manslaughter occurs when an individual “carelessly” causes someone else’s death. The prosecutor in these cases needs to prove that the defendant acted with such recklessness that it resulted in that person’s death.
Intoxication Manslaughter
Intoxication manslaughter happens when a defendant is under the influence and, due to that influence, unintentionally causes the death of someone else. In other words, if an individual operates a vehicle while impaired and leads to a deadly crash due to that impairment, they will probably face charges of intoxication manslaughter.
Even in cases that do not involve drunk driving, driving your vehicle recklessly can result in manslaughter charges. A driver who is impaired, distracted, tired, or has ignored fundamental traffic regulations, such as speeding, may face manslaughter charges if their behavior results in another person’s death.
Although manslaughter might not appear as serious a crime as murder or capital murder, it is categorized as a second-degree felony in Texas. Therefore, if found guilty, an individual could still face a prison sentence of up to 20 years and pay a $10,000 fine.
The Difference Between Manslaughter and Murder
In Texas, both manslaughter and murder necessitate that the state show that a homicide occurred. However, these two offenses differ in intent and the penalty range required to commit the crime.
For the court to convict you of murder, you must have had the intention of causing harm. The prosecutor needs to demonstrate this particular intent. However, you can still be found guilty of Murder even if you had no intention of causing harm if you take someone’s life by perpetrating an act that is “obviously dangerous to human life” during the commission of a felony offense. This law is often referred to as the Felony Murder Doctrine.
However, manslaughter only calls for the state to show that the defendant carelessly brought about another person’s death.
Differences in Penalty Levels
Every murder conviction is classified as at least a first-degree felony, indicating that a conviction will result in a prison sentence of five to ninety-nine years or life imprisonment.
Manslaughter is classified as a second-degree felony, with a penalty of two to twenty years of incarceration.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
The phrase criminally negligent homicide pertains to cases where the defendant brought about another person’s death through criminal negligence.
An individual is said to be criminally negligent if they “cause someone else’s death by being criminally negligent.” An individual shows “criminal negligence” when they“ should have knowledge of a justifiable and serious risk” that their actions will cause the death of someone.
Criminal homicide is classified as a felony, with penalties ranging from 180 days to 2 years in jail, along with fines amounting to $10,000. If a lethal weapon was utilized during the commission of the offense, it escalates to a third-degree felony, which carries a punishment of 2 to 10 years imprisonment along with a $10,000 fine.
The Differences Between Criminally Negligent Homicide and Murder
According to Texas law, both criminally negligent homicide and murder necessitate that the state show that a homicide occurred. Murder and criminally negligent homicide are similar in some ways. Still, they are also different in terms of the intent that the prosecution must show and the range of punishments that go along with them.
Proving Intent
To secure a murder conviction in Texas, the prosecution must demonstrate either that you intended to cause harm or that you killed someone by engaging in an act “evidently harmful to other people’s lives” while perpetrating a felony. For criminal homicide, the state only needs to establish that you took someone else’s life due to “criminal negligence.”
Differences in Penalty Levels
Every murder conviction is classified as at least a first-degree felony, which means that when the court convicts you, you will serve a prison sentence ranging from five to ninety-nine years, or life imprisonment. Texas charges manslaughter as a second-degree felony, with a penalty ranging from two to twenty years in prison. Texas charges criminally negligent homicide as a felony. If convicted, you serve a prison sentence.
What Distinguishes Criminally Negligent Homicide from Manslaughter in Texas?
Manslaughter occurs when a person recklessly causes the death of another individual, meaning they consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk. Conversely, criminally negligent homicide involves committing a negligent act that leads to the demise of someone else.
In manslaughter cases, the offender lacked the intention to kill the victim, yet their conduct or carelessness led to the victim’s demise. Criminally negligent homicide, on the other hand, means that the offender’s behavior or neglect was not explicitly deliberate. Yet they did not demonstrate the due diligence that a rational individual would exhibit in a comparable scenario, leading to the victim’s death.
When Can You Justify a Homicide in Texas?
Defendants accused of either murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide might have justification for killing someone else if they were acting in self-defense or the defense of someone else. In general terms, an individual has the right to employ force against anyone attacking them, engaging in or issuing threats to engage in specific criminal acts against them, or who intrudes into their home.
This right to use self-defense as a defense in court comes with certain limitations:
- You should not be the aggressor in the dispute. In simpler terms, you cannot harm someone else and then assert self-defense after killing them when they respond with violence (unless the victim used deadly force).
- You cannot assert self-defense if the other individual only provoked you verbally. This implies that you are not permitted to strike or assault someone who merely throws insults at you.
- The force you applied must be proportionate and justifiable given the situation. You cannot invoke self-defense if you stab another person repeatedly with a knife, while the other person only punched you.
Lethal force is permitted only when there is a threat of deadly force against you. For example, you can use lethal force when someone forcibly and unlawfully enters your residence, vehicle, or workplace, or you are preventing any of the following crimes from happening.
- Aggravated kidnapping
- Aggravated sexual assault
- Murder
- Robbery
- Sexual assault
- Aggravated robbery
Given the situation, you must also reasonably believe that the force applied – and the specific degree of force employed – is warranted and justified.
This self-defense is assessed on an impartial basis. If a rational individual in a similar circumstance would not have perceived an immediate threat or believed that deadly force was necessary, the defendant could face criminal responsibility even if they assert self-defense. It does not matter what the defendant truly thought.
You can also be similarly justified in employing deadly force to defend another person when:
- You had a rational belief that the other person would be appropriately justified in employing self-defense; and
- You had a reasonable belief that immediate action was required to safeguard the other person.
The practical significance of your conduct will be evaluated based on an “objective, reasonable person” standard. If a reasonable person in similar circumstances would not have accepted your beliefs, this defense cannot excuse a homicide, irrespective of your personal beliefs.
What are Some Defenses For Homicide in Texas?
While homicide charges are among the most severe allegations you can face in Texas, it does not mean that you should give up. The court presumes you to be innocent until it finds you guilty. Your attorney will work hard to maintain that presumption of innocence by using some of the following defenses:
- You were protecting yourself, someone else, or your property
- Mistaken identity
- You had no intent to commit the offense
Find a Homicide Defense Attorney Near Me
If you or a loved one is facing murder, manslaughter, or any other homicide charge, you should contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer without delay. Homicide charges, regardless of whether it is manslaughter, murder, or criminally negligent homicide, carry lengthy prison terms or even the death penalty if the court finds you guilty. A knowledgeable and dedicated criminal defense attorney well-versed in Texas homicide laws can help you lower your charge to a lesser one.
For legal representation or guidance on homicide charges, reach out to Andrew Deegan Criminal Attorney at Law, today at 817-689-7002 to schedule a consultation and see how we can help you.
