When can deadly force be used in Texas?

Answer 1

California Penal Code 197 states; Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases: 1. When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person; or, 2. When committed in defense of habitation, property, or person, against one who manifestly intends or endeavors, by violence or surprise, to commit a felony, or against one who manifestly intends and endeavors, in a violent, riotous or tumultuous manner, to enter the habitation of another for the purpose of offering violence to any person therein; or, 3. When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a wife or husband, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant of such person, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great bodily injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished; but such person, or the person in whose behalf the defense was made, if he was the assailant or engaged in mutual combat, must really and in good faith have endeavored to decline any further struggle before the homicide was committed; or, 4. When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving the peace.

So the use of deadly force may be justifiable when necessary to resist the attempt to commit a forcible and life-threatening crime, provided that a reasonable person in the same or similar situation would believe that -

(a) the person killed intended to commit a forcible and life-threatening crime;

(b) there was imminent danger of such crime being accomplished; and

(c) the person acted under the belief that such force was necessary to save himself or herself or another from death or a forcible and life-threatening crime.

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advise. The above was disseminated for informational purposes only.

Answer 2

There is too much to this law to try to cover it all.

You can use deadly force to stop certain crimes.

Crimes against property:

arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime

Crimes against person:

aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery

You can also use deadly force if someone is breaking in to your occupied home, vehicle or place of employment. This is the castle doctrine. You no longer have to retreat before you use deadly force. This is stand your ground.

You can also use deadly force if you reasonably believe that you must to stop anothers use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. But you can not use deadly force if you are committing any crime other than class c traffic, nor can you use deadly force if you provoked the other.

Reasonable and unlawful are important in this law. To say you can only use deadly force if you are in fear of your life is not true. A crazy person may actually be in fear of his life but he is not reasonable to believe so. Unlawful means if someone is robbing you, you can use deadly force to stop him. But can he use deadly force on you since he is in fear of his life? No because his use of deadly force would be unlawful.

Please read chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code to know when you can use force and/or deadly force.