Capital Murder: Texas Penal Code §19.03

Capital Murder is the most serious crime in the state of Texas. It is the state’s only offense punishable by death.

The Capital Murder law requires the state to first prove the underlying offense of Murder and then prove that one of the aggravating circumstances listed in the Capital Murder law applies.

The Capital Murder law was amended in the 86th Texas Legislature, effective September 1, 2019, in (“Lauren’s Law”). The law was amended again in 2023. All of these changes are discussed below.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Capital Murder law under Title 5 “Offenses Against the Person,” Chapter 19 “Criminal Homicide.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Capital Murder below.

What is the current Texas law about Capital Murder?

Texas law currently defines the offense of Capital Murder in Penal Code Section §19.03 as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if the person commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:

(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in the lawful discharge of 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 under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6);

(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;

(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 another:

(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal institution; or

(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;

(6) the person:

(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this section or Section 19.02, murders another; or

(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another;

(7) the person murders more than one person:

(A) during the same criminal transaction; or

(B) during different criminal transactions but the murders are committed pursuant to 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 or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court.

What changed in 2019?

“Lauren’s Law,” enacted in the 86th Texas Legislature through Senate Bill 719, added subsection (9) to the statute above, effective as of September 1, 2019.^[2]

What changed in 2023?

The 88th Texas Legislature passed a law in 2023 specifying that, “for purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the actor is presumed to have known the person murdered was a peace officer or fireman if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person’s employment as a peace officer or fireman.”^[3]

What is the difference between Murder and Capital Murder?

How can I be charged with a Capital Murder offense in Texas?

For any offense that occurred prior to September 1, 2019, you can be charged with Capital Murder in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 19.03(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) or (9), as described in the section above have been met.

For any offense committed after September 1, 2019, you can be charged with Capital Murder in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 19.03(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) or (10), as described in the section above have been met.

The offense has changed two other times in the recent past as well. Both times it was amended by expanding the types of instances in which the state may seek the death penalty. The current subsection (10) was added effective 2005^[4] and subsection (8) was expanded effective September 1, 2011.^[5]

What is the statute of limitation for Capital Murder in Texas?

Capital Murder has no limitations period under Texas law.^[6]

What is the penalty for a Texas Capital Murder offense?

A conviction for Capital Murder in Texas is punished as a capital felony,^[7] making the offense punishable by death, life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole.

However, the state may not seek the death penalty in any case based solely on an offense under subsection (9) (the Lauren’s Law amendment).^[8]

What level of crime is Capital Murder in Texas?

In Texas, people convicted of Capital Murder are eligibile for the death penalty, life imprisonment and life without parole.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

Can a Texas Capital Murder offense be reduced?

Yes, a Capital Murder charge can be reduced. Capital Murder could be reduced to Murder, Manslaughter, or even Attempted Murder, Attempted Manslaughter, Criminally Negligent Homicide, or all the way down to Assault.

---

Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §19.03. This law is current as of 2024.^2. S.B. 719, 86th Texas Legislature, Section 2^3. S.B. 386, 88th Texas Legislature, Section 2^4. S.B. 1791, 79th Texas Legislature, Sections 1-2^5. S.B. 377, 82nd Texas Legislature, Sections 1-2^6. Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(1)(A)^7. Texas Penal Code §19.03(b)^8. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 37.071 Sec. 1(b), as enacted by S.B. 719, 86th Texas Legislature, Section 3