Texas Codes

Tex. Penal Code § 19.03 (2026)

Capital Murder

✓ current as of May 2026

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Sec. 19.03. CAPITAL MURDER. (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.

(b) An offense under this section is a capital felony.

(c) If the jury or, when authorized by law, the judge does not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of an offense under this section, he may be convicted of murder or of any other lesser included offense.

(d) 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.

Added by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5317, ch. 977, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 44, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 652, Sec. 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 715, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 887, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 428 (S.B. 1791), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1209 (S.B. 377), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1214 (S.B. 719), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2019.

Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1057 (S.B. 386), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2,091 cases (226 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case: Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003).

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Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). · cites it 10× “Swearingen was convicted for murdering Melissa Trotter by ligature strangulation in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping or aggravated sexual assault.”

Muniz v. State, 851 S.W.2d 238 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). · cites it 8× “At the time of the commission of this offense, the relevant portions of Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 provided: (a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as defined under Section 19.”

Young v. State, 283 S.W.3d 854 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). · cites it 6× “[13] It is clear enough that the trial court's error deprived the appellant of a valuable rightthe right to be assured that the jurors would not deliberate upon his variable mitigating evidence under the mistaken assumption that they must agree on which mitigating circumstance…”

Feldman v. State, 71 S.W.3d 738 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). · cites it 5× “Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 (a). Pursuant to the jury’s answers to the special issues set forth in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 37.”

Medina v. State, 7 S.W.3d 633 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). · cites it 8× “Tex. Penal Code § 19.03. The verdicts required the trial court to sentence appellant to death.”

Banks v. Dretke, 540 U.S. 668 (2004). · cites it 4× “Banks was convicted of murder committed in the course of a robbery, in violation of Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 (a)(2) (1974).”

Cannady v. State, 11 S.W.3d 205 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). · cites it 10× “We 'hold that the sentence of death may be executed without regard to other sentences Cannady might have pending.”

Alvarado v. State, 912 S.W.2d 199 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). · cites it 6× “) Appellant was indicted for the intentional capital murder of Carmen Sustaita under Texas Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). Thus, the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it could find appellant guilty of her capital murder if it found merely that appellant knowingly caused…”

Lawton v. State, 913 S.W.2d 542 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). · cites it 7× “In July 1993, appellant was tried and convicted of capital murder under Texas Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). The offense, murder in the course of robbery/burglary, was committed on December 24, 1992.”

Penry v. State, 903 S.W.2d 715 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). · cites it 6× “[2] See Tex.Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). The jury answered the special punishment issues affirmatively, and the trial court assessed punishment at death.”

Garcia v. State, 919 S.W.2d 370 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). · cites it 7× “Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(2). The jury affirmatively answered the statutory punishment issues and the trial judge sentenced appellant to death.”

Herrin v. State, 125 S.W.3d 436 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). · cites it 6× “071 sections 2(b) and 2(e), the trial judge sentenced appellant to death. Art. 37.”

Show all 2,091 citing cases →

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(1)(3) — 1 case

Peyton, Ex Parte Jeffrey (Tex. 2016).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(2) — 5 cases

Delao v. State, 235 S.W.3d 235 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).

Nonn v. State, 117 S.W.3d 874 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003).

Mouton v. State, 923 S.W.2d 219 (Tex. App. 1996).

Nonn, Jaime Charles (Tex. Crim. App. 2003).

Isreal Hudgins v. State (Tex. App. 2011).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(7)(A) — 1 case

Jason Thad Payne v. State (Tex. App. 2011).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(7)(a) — 1 case

Sherry Lynn Smith v. State (Tex. App. 2012).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(8) — 2 cases

Matter of V.M.D., 974 S.W.2d 332 (Tex. App. 1998).

Larry Demetricus Woodruffe v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2023).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(A)(2) — 2 cases

Miniel v. State, 831 S.W.2d 310 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992).

Reynaldo Rey v. State (Tex. App. 2014).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a) — 156 cases

Shuffield v. State, 189 S.W.3d 782 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

Young v. State, 283 S.W.3d 854 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). “[13] It is clear enough that the trial court's error deprived the appellant of a valuable rightthe right to be assured that the jurors would not deliberate upon his variable mitigating evidence under the mistaken assumption that they must agree on which mitigating circumstance…”

Woods v. State, 152 S.W.3d 105 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004).

Granados v. State, 85 S.W.3d 217 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002).

Segundo v. State, 270 S.W.3d 79 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(1) — 59 cases

Mays v. State, 318 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010).

Black v. State, 26 S.W.3d 895 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

Buntion v. State, 482 S.W.3d 58 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016).

Hughes v. State, 897 S.W.2d 285 (Tex. Crim. App. 1994).

Garcia v. State, 126 S.W.3d 921 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(1)(8) — 1 case

Jose Angel Gonzalez v. State (Tex. App. 2015).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2) — 535 cases

Muniz v. State, 851 S.W.2d 238 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). “At the time of the commission of this offense, the relevant portions of Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 provided: (a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as defined under Section 19.”

Swearingen v. State, 101 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). “Swearingen was convicted for murdering Melissa Trotter by ligature strangulation in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping or aggravated sexual assault.”

Alvarado v. State, 912 S.W.2d 199 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). “) Appellant was indicted for the intentional capital murder of Carmen Sustaita under Texas Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). Thus, the trial court erred in instructing the jury that it could find appellant guilty of her capital murder if it found merely that appellant knowingly caused…”

Lawton v. State, 913 S.W.2d 542 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). “In July 1993, appellant was tried and convicted of capital murder under Texas Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). The offense, murder in the course of robbery/burglary, was committed on December 24, 1992.”

Penry v. State, 903 S.W.2d 715 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). “[2] See Tex.Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2). The jury answered the special punishment issues affirmatively, and the trial court assessed punishment at death.”

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2)(1986) — 1 case

Medina v. State, 7 S.W.3d 633 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). “Tex. Penal Code § 19.03. The verdicts required the trial court to sentence appellant to death.”

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(2)(1990) — 1 case

Dowthitt v. State, 931 S.W.2d 244 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(3) — 59 cases

Ex Parte Granger, 850 S.W.2d 513 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).

Prystash v. State, 3 S.W.3d 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999).

Janecka v. State, 937 S.W.2d 456 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

Young v. Commonwealth, 50 S.W.3d 148 (Ky. 2001).

Ex Parte Kimes, 872 S.W.2d 700 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(3)(b) — 1 case

Ronald Clark O'Bryan v. W.J. Estelle, Jr., Dir., Texas Dep't of Corr., Respondent, 714 F.2d 365 (5th Cir. 1983).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(4) — 4 cases

State v. Young, 853 P.2d 327 (Utah 1993).

Martin, Jerry Duane (Tex. Crim. App. 2012).

Falk, John Ray Jr. (Tex. Crim. App. 2021).

Martin, Jerry Duane (Tex. Crim. App. 2012).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(5) — 1 case

State v. Young, 853 P.2d 327 (Utah 1993).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(5)(A) — 2 cases

Runnels, Travis Trevino (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).

Martin, Jerry Duane (Tex. Crim. App. 2012).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(5)(B) — 5 cases

Brumfield v. State, 18 S.W.3d 921 (Tex. App. 2000).

Campbell v. State, 18 S.W.3d 914 (Tex. App. 2000).

Armstrong v. State, 18 S.W.3d 928 (Tex. App. 2000).

Moffett v. State, 949 S.W.2d 778 (Tex. App. 1997).

Morales Castillo v. Lumpkin (W.D. Tex. 2024).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(6) — 16 cases

Cannady v. State, 11 S.W.3d 205 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). “We 'hold that the sentence of death may be executed without regard to other sentences Cannady might have pending.”

Rhoades v. State, 934 S.W.2d 113 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

Johnson v. State, 853 S.W.2d 527 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992).

Richardson v. State, 879 S.W.2d 874 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).

Hai Hai Vuong v. State, 830 S.W.2d 929 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(6)(A) — 31 cases

Heiselbetz v. State, 906 S.W.2d 500 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995).

Richardson v. State, 879 S.W.2d 874 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).

Dinkins v. State, 894 S.W.2d 330 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995).

Jackson v. State, 17 S.W.3d 664 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

Johnson v. State, 853 S.W.2d 527 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(6)(A)(1991) — 1 case

Ramos v. State, 934 S.W.2d 358 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(6)(B) — 3 cases

Coble v. State, 871 S.W.2d 192 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993).

Chapman v. State, 838 S.W.2d 574 (Tex. App. 1992).

Lee Taylor v. Rick Thaler, Dir., 397 F. App'x 104 (5th Cir. 2010).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(7) — 52 cases

Wesbrook v. State, 29 S.W.3d 103 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

York v. State, 342 S.W.3d 528 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011).

Smith v. State, 297 S.W.3d 260 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009).

Feldman v. State, 71 S.W.3d 738 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). “Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 (a). Pursuant to the jury’s answers to the special issues set forth in Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 37.”

Fuller v. State, 253 S.W.3d 220 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(7)(A) — 93 cases

Landrian v. State, 268 S.W.3d 532 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).

Turner, Albert James, 422 S.W.3d 676 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).

Sorto v. State, 173 S.W.3d 469 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).

Medina v. State, 7 S.W.3d 633 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). “Tex. Penal Code § 19.03. The verdicts required the trial court to sentence appellant to death.”

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(7)(B) — 16 cases

Daniel Lee Corwin v. Gary L. Johnson, Dir., Texas Dep't of Crim. Just., Institutional Div., 150 F.3d 467 (5th Cir. 1998).

Milner, Ex Parte Kenneth Glenn, 394 S.W.3d 502 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).

Wood v. Quarterman, 503 F.3d 408 (5th Cir. 2007).

Ex parte St. Aubin, 537 S.W.3d 39 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(7)(a) — 2 cases

Chance Michael Moseley v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2022).

James Henry Elrod, III v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2023).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(8) — 100 cases

Ripkowski v. State, 61 S.W.3d 378 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001).

Henderson v. State, 962 S.W.2d 544 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997).

Renteria v. State, 206 S.W.3d 689 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

Black v. State, 26 S.W.3d 895 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

Flores v. State, 245 S.W.3d 432 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(l) — 1 case

Jemarcus Latron Green v. State, 495 S.W.3d 563 (Tex. App. 2016).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(b) — 17 cases

Tolbert v. State, 306 S.W.3d 776 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010).

Dylan Andrew Quick v. State, 557 S.W.3d 775 (Tex. App. 2018).

Labonte v. State, 99 S.W.3d 801 (Tex. App. 2003).

Matienza v. State, 699 S.W.2d 626 (Tex. App. 1985).

McCardle v. State, 550 S.W.3d 265 (Tex. App. 2018).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(b)(2) — 1 case

Michael Todd Phipps v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2024).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(b)(3) — 2 cases

Crawford, Austin (Tex. 2015).

Crawford, Austin (Tex. App. 2015).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(c) — 9 cases

Moore v. State, 969 S.W.2d 4 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998).

Livingston v. State, 739 S.W.2d 311 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987).

Leal v. State, 303 S.W.3d 292 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009).

Lee v. State, 860 S.W.2d 582 (Tex. App. 1993).

Kuntschik v. State, 636 S.W.2d 744 (Tex. App. 1982).

— Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(l)(a)(2) — 1 case

Duane Johnson v. State (Tex. App. 1996).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.