Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 219
is necessary to protect or recover the item. In this example, not
only does the stapler have little monetary value, but there are others
readily available for replacement from the supply closet. It would be
hard to imagine a jury finding a person to be justified in even using
force, let alone deadly force, for such a petty larceny! To that end, in
a case of deadly force in 1893, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
held that the taking of a nickel (which is worth about $1.52 today),
did not justify the owner of the nickel in killing the thief who was
fleeing with the money. Bowman v. State, 21 S.W. 48 (Tex. Crim.
App. 1893). Remember, your conduct will always be evaluated under
a reasonable person standard, and there are no legal presumptions
available for defending property under Texas Penal Code Sections
9.41 and 9.42.
III. WHEN IS SOMEONE LEGALLY JUSTIFIED IN USING DEADLY
FORCE TO PROTECT OR RECOVER THEIR OWN PROPERTY?
When a person may legally use deadly force (force that is intended
to cause or causes serious bodily injury or death) to defend his or
her property is addressed in Section 9.42 of the Texas Penal Code.
208 | CHAPTER TEN
