Homicide
In Texas, A person commits criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence causes the death of an individual. Criminal Homicide under Texas law includes Murder, Capital Murder, Manslaughter, or Criminally Negligent Homicide.
An offense of Murder is enhanced to Capital Murder if a person commits the offense of murder, as defined by the Texas Penal Code, and:
(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in an official duty and who the person knows is a peace officer or fireman;
(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat;
(3) the person commits the murder for payment or the promise of payment;
(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or attempting to escape from a penal institution;
(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal institution, murders an employee of the penal institution;
(6) the person while incarcerated for an offense of murder, murders another or while serving a sentence of life imprisonment or a term of 99 years, murders another;
(7) the person murders more than one person during the same criminal transaction; or the same scheme or course of conduct;
(8) the person murders an individual under 10 years of age;
(9) the person murders an individual 10 years of age or older but younger than 15 years of age; or
(10) the person murders another person in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a judge.
