When you are being charged with some type of murder, you need to know exactly what you are up against. There are exactly four types of murder that you could be charged with. Two of them have higher consequences than the other two have which is why you need to be aware of what type of murder case you are involved in.

The first type of murder is classified as intent to kill. This type of Texas murder case is usually defined as a time when you set out to kill someone without any premeditation. Usually with the intent to kill also applies the deadly weapon rule which states that if you try to use a deadly weapon on someone, it is technically considered intent to kill that person because of the choice of object used. When there is no premeditation, it is usually considered second degree murder. If you have thoughts ahead of time to kill that person and then you act upon those thoughts, this is considered premeditation which is first degree murder.

The next type of murder in Texas is classified as Intent to Cause Serious Bodily Harm. This means that you were only intending to hurt the person seriously when you actually ended up killing that person. The reason that the murder happened in this case is because of your anger. This type of murder is usually classified as only second degree murder because of your original intent to only hurt the person; not murder the person. The consequences for second degree murder in Texas are usually between 2 and 20 years in prison with a fine of up to $10,000. Depending on how lenient the judge is will determine how severe the punishment is.

The next type of murder is classified as Depraved Heart or malignant heart murder. This is where murder gets a little bit more complicated. This means that you didn’t intend to kill the person and you are only being punished for your unacceptable conduct. This type of Texas murder case is usually classified as a second degree murder in Texas because of the person’s lack of malice toward the person that was murdered. This basically means that you were reckless in your actions and got someone killed in the process.

The last type of murder is fairly basic in its relation to the other types. The last type is classified as a felony murder in Texas. This is defined as someone being killed while the accused is committing some sort of other felony. This type of murder can be punishable with either a first or second degree murder depending on the situation surrounding all the events that took place. There are many different felonies that could go along with this type of murder including arson, rape, kidnapping, and robbery.

By: Joseph Devine