“Sudden Passion” Murder Cases in Texas

Sudden Passion & Murder in Texas

A wife comes home early one day and discovers her husband engaged in sexual activity with another woman. Enraged, the woman goes to her closet, retrieves a gun, and kills his lover. At her murder trial, the wife’s attorney asks the jury to consider whether the wife acted in “sudden passion” when she committed the murder. What is sudden passion and how would it affect the wife’s sentence after being convicted of murder?

What is “Sudden Passion”?

Sudden passion is a mitigating finding that can raised by a murder defendant during the punishment phase of the trial. It allows jurors to consider whether the defendant had been provoked to such a level of fear, rage or resentment that any reasonable person in a similar situation “would have been capable of cool reflection.” If jurors find that a defendant acted in sudden passion, the maximum punishment for murder is reduced from life in prison to 20 years.

Take the example from above. After the jury finds the wife guilty of murder, her defense team then asks the jury to consider if the wife acted in “sudden passion” at the time the murder was committed. If the jury finds that the wife acted in sudden passion, the wife would be facing punishment for a second-degree felony instead of a first-degree felony. This difference in felony degrees would significantly lessen the range of punishment the wife would receive.

Is Sudden Punishment a Defense to Murder?

Sudden passion is not a defense to murder and cannot be raised until a jury has found a defendant guilty of murder in the guilt/innocence phase of the trial. After the guilt/ innocence phase of a trial, the jury determines a defendant’s sentence in the punishment phase of the trial. The issue of sudden passion is raised during the punishment phase of the trial because a finding of sudden passion only affects the type of punishment that defendant can receive.

How Does The Argument of Sudden Passion Affect Punishment?

If a jury finds a defendant guilty of murder but also finds that a defendant acted in sudden passion when the murder was committed, the murder charge is mitigated from a first-degree felony to a second-degree felony. In Texas, a first degree felony carries a sentence of 5 to 99 years in a state prison and a fine of no more than $10,000. A second-degree felony carries a sentence of 2 to 20 years and a fine of no more than $10,000. In other words, if sudden passion is found, it caps the defendant’s possible punishment at 20 years in prison.

How does Texas Law Address Sudden Passion?

The Texas Penal Code 19.02(a)(2) defines sudden passion as “passion directly caused by and arising out of provocation by the individual killed or another acting with the person killed which passion arises at the time of the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation”. Further, Texas Penal Code 19.02(d) explains that the actions that caused the murder must have arisen while the defendant was under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause. Texas Penal Code 19.02(a)(1) describes an adequate cause of sudden passion as a degree of emotion, such as terror, anger, rage, or resentment; that would be sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool reflection. This cause, however, cannot come from the defendant’s own making and is assessed in a person of ordinary temper. Finally, there must be a causal connection between the provocation, passion, and the murder.

For more information on the types of homicide charges available in Texas, check out this video by Board Certified Criminal Defense Lawyer Benson Varghese:

Review by a Client after an Acquittal in a Murder Trial

Rating:★★★★★ 5 / 5 stars

By: A.J.

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