Capital murder is the only remaining death penalty offense in Texas. 

A capital murder has all of the elements of an intentional murder but with additional factors that are considered so egregious that the act has a separate classification. For example, the murder of a peace officer or murder of someone under the age of 15 elevates a murder charge to capital murder.

When is a Murder a Capital Murder?

In Texas, capital murder is the most serious form of homicide due to the circumstances under which it is committed. They involve very specific circumstances and show a deliberate attempt to kill. 

“Capital” refers to the potential maximum punishment, which in Texas is execution. (There’s a reason why the death penalty is often referred to as capital punishment). 

While a murder charge requires deliberate intent, the standard for capital murder is higher. Capital murders must include at least one of the additional criteria established by Section 19.02(b)(1) of the Texas Penal Code, including:

• Murdering a peace officer or fireman who is performing an official duty 
• Intentionally murdering someone while committing or attempting to commit burglary, robbery, kidnapping, arson, terroristic threat, obstruction or retaliation, or aggravated sexual assault
• Murdering for payment or the promise of payment or hiring another person to murder someone for payment or the promise of payment.
• Murdering someone while escaping – or trying to escape – a jail or prison 
• An incarcerated person murders another who works in the penal institution
• Someone who murders while incarcerated as participation in a gang
• Murdering while incarcerated for murder
• Someone who murders while incarcerated for a term of 99 years or life for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, or aggravated robbery
• Murdering more than one person during a single criminal activity or during different criminal activities, but the murders are committed in the same scheme or course of conduct
• Murdering a child under 15
• Murdering someone who serves as a judge or justice of a municipal court, statutory county courts, constitutional county courts, criminal district courts, an appeals court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, or the Supreme Court

READ MORE: Capital murder vs. first-degree murder

Special Issues in a Death Penalty Case

If a person is charged with a capital felony, the case is prosecuted very differently from other criminal cases. Capital felonies in Texas are treated with the highest level of legal scrutiny due to the severe penalties involved. There is an extensive pre-trial process, and often, the jury will decide whether the defendant should receive life without parole or the death penalty.

Because of this, jurors face a higher standard when considering a death sentence. Texas’ Code of Criminal Procedure Article 37.071(2) establishes that juries must weigh two special issues in a death penalty case in Texas: 

• Is the defendant a future danger?
• Are there mitigating factors that make a life sentence more appropriate?

If jurors unanimously decide “yes” on the first special issue and “no” on the second one, then the defendant will get a death sentence.

Penalties for Capital Murder in Texas

Capital murder in Texas is a capital felony. That means it’s considered one of the most serious crimes, and the punishment can be severe. In Texas, that means a defendant could face the death penalty, though statistics show the most common outcome is life in prison without parole. 

READ MORE: Felony murder

Sentencing Outcomes for Capital Murders in Texas

Since 2007, 582 Texans have stood trial on capital charges, and 78 have been sentenced to death.

Life without parole	373	64%
Life in prison	106	18%
Death	78	13%
Conviction on a lesser offense	10	1.7%
Acquittal	15	2.6%

To date, in 2024, Texas has sentenced three capital murder defendants to death.

• Hidalgo County: Victor Godinez was sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing Moises Sanchez, a trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Sanchez was responding to a vehicular accident.
• Tarrant County: Paige Terrell Lawyer was sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, O’Tishae Womack, and her 10-year-old daughter, Ka’Myria Womack.
• Johnson County: Jerry Elders was sentenced to death for shooting a Burleson police officer, then kidnapping and killing 60-year-old Robin Waddell in 2021.