Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 170
court to support that he “knew or had reason to believe” that he was
about to be the victim of murder (e.g., the man screamed threats at
him and was about to strike him with the tire iron, and Matt was in
fear of his life, so he shot the man). If Matt puts forth some evidence
that the dead man was about to murder him, the law requires the
prosecution to then prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
accused (in this case, Matt) did not act in self-defense. See Saxton
v. State, 804 S.W.2d 910 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991), and Jenkins v.
State, 740 S.W.2d 435 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987). The prosecution
will have an opportunity to put forth evidence that Matt was not
about to be the victim of murder based on the physical evidence
found at the scene as well as the investigating officer’s testimony.
This presumption of reasonableness puts Matt’s legal defense in a
much better legal position than it would be without it.
If the jury believes Matt acted in self-defense to prevent an
attempted murder or, more precisely, that the prosecution did not
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Matt did not act in selfdefense, Sections 9.31 and 9.32 act to give him a legal presumption
of “reasonableness” to his belief that the use of force or deadly
force was immediately necessary. This is a very powerful legal tool
in court. Having the presumptions of Sections 9.31 and 9.32 could
just be the difference between a verdict of guilty or not guilty!
3. Victims of sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault
Like murder, if a person is the victim of a sexual assault or an
aggravated sexual assault, Texas law allows for the legally justified
use of force (Section 9.31) or deadly force (Section 9.32) to stop the
assault. These two self-defense statutes will also provide any victim
of these crimes who resists with force or deadly force a powerful legal
presumption of “reasonableness” to his or her belief in the immediate
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