Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 199
JUSTIFIED USE OF FORCE TO PROTECT LIFE OR HEALTH
TEX. PENAL CODE § 9.34
(a) A person is justified in using force, but not deadly force,
against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes
the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other from
committing suicide or inflicting serious bodily injury to himself.
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force
against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes
the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve
the other’s life in an emergency.
Section (b) of this statute refers to the rare instances where it
may be necessary to use what would be considered deadly force
to perform some type of emergency procedure in order to save a
life, such as an amputation or tracheotomy. Although the language
seems somewhat misleading, it is not suggesting that a person be
justified in killing another in order to save their life!
188 | CHAPTER EIGHT
