Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 220
JUSTIFIED USE OF DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
TEX. PENAL CODE § 9.42
A person is justified in using deadly force against another to
protect land or tangible, movable property:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under
Section 9.41; and
(2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly
force is immediately necessary:
(A) to prevent the other’s imminent commission of arson,
burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during
nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after
committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery,
or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the
property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by
any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or
recover the land or property would expose the actor
or another to a substantial risk of death or serious
bodily injury.
A. Three requirements for legal justification under Section 9.42
Legal justification for deadly force to protect property under
Texas Penal Code Section 9.42 is not accompanied with any legal
presumptions of reasonableness; the jury will be the ultimate
arbiter in deciding whether a person acted reasonably in a given
incident. Because Section 9.42 requires three separate elements of
When Can I Legally Use My Gun: Part IV | 209
