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Texas State Statutes |
| CAPITAL MURDER |
Felony
One count
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PENAL CODE
TITLE 5. Offenses Against the Person
§ 19.03. Capital Murder.
(a) A person commits an
offense if the person commits murder as defined under Section
19.02(b)(1) and:
(7) the person murders more than one person:
(A) during the same criminal transaction; or
(B) during different criminal transactions but
the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of
conduct;
(b) An offense under this section is a capital felony.
(c) If the jury or, when authorized by law, the judge does
not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of
an offense under this section, he may be convicted of murder or of
any other lesser included offense.
§ 19.02. MURDER.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Adequate cause" means cause that would commonly
produce a degree of anger, rage, resentment, or terror in a person
of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool
reflection.
(2) "Sudden passion" means 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.
(b) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an
individual;
(2) intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits
an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an
individual; or
(3) commits or attempts to commit a felony, other than
manslaughter, and in the course of and in furtherance of the
commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission
or attempt, he commits or attempts to commit an act clearly
dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under
this section is a felony of the first degree.
(d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may
raise the issue as to whether he caused the death under the
immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate
cause. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a
preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second
degree.
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| INJURY TO A CHILD |
Felony
One count
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PENAL CODE
TITLE 5. Offenses Against the Person
§ 22.04. Injury To A Child, Elderly Individual, Or
Disabled Individual.
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence,
by act or intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by omission, causes to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual:
(1) serious bodily injury;
(2) serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury; or
(3) bodily injury.
(b) An omission that causes a condition described by
Subsections (a)(1) through (a)(3) is conduct constituting an
offense under this section if:
(1) the actor has a legal or statutory duty to act; or
(2) the actor has assumed care, custody, or control of
a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Child" means a person 14 years of age or younger.
(2) "Elderly individual" means a person 65 years of
age or older.
(3) "Disabled individual" means a person older than 14
years of age who by reason of age or physical or mental disease,
defect, or injury is substantially unable to protect himself from
harm or to provide food, shelter, or medical care for himself.
(d) The actor has assumed care, custody, or control if he
has by act, words, or course of conduct acted so as to cause a
reasonable person to conclude that he has accepted responsibility
for protection, food, shelter, and medical care for a child,
elderly individual, or disabled individual.
(e) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a felony of
the first degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or
knowingly. When the conduct is engaged in recklessly it shall be a
felony of the second degree.
(f) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a felony of the
third degree when the conduct is committed intentionally or
knowingly. When the conduct is engaged in recklessly it shall be a
state jail felony.
(g) An offense under Subsection (a) when the person acts
with criminal negligence shall be a state jail felony.
(h) A person who is subject to prosecution under both this
section and another section of this code may be prosecuted under
either or both sections. Section 3.04 does not apply to criminal
episodes prosecuted under both this section and another section of
this code. If a criminal episode is prosecuted under both this
section and another section of this code and sentences are assessed
for convictions under both sections, the sentences shall run
concurrently.
(i) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (b)(2) that before the offense the actor:
(1) notified in person the child, elderly individual,
or disabled individual that he would no longer provide any of the
care described by Subsection (d); and
(2) notified in writing the parents or person other
than himself acting in loco parentis to the child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual that he would no longer provide
any of the care described by Subsection (d); or
(3) notified in writing the Department of Protective
and Regulatory Services that he would no longer provide any of the
care set forth in Subsection (d).
(j) Written notification under Subsection (i)(2) or (i)(3)
is not effective unless it contains the name and address of the
actor, the name and address of the child, elderly individual, or
disabled individual, the type of care provided by the actor, and the
date the care was discontinued.
(k)(1) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the act or omission consisted of:
(A) reasonable medical care occurring under the
direction of or by a licensed physician; or
(B) emergency medical care administered in good
faith and with reasonable care by a person not licensed in the
healing arts.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
this section that the act or omission was based on treatment in
accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized religious
method of healing with a generally accepted record of efficacy. It
is an affirmative defense to prosecution for a person charged with
an act of omission under this section causing to a child, elderly
individual, or disabled individual a condition described by
Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) that:
(A) there is no evidence that, on the date prior
to the offense charged, the defendant was aware of an incident of
injury to the child, elderly individual, or disabled individual and
failed to report the incident; and
(B) the person:
(i) was a victim of family violence, as that
term is defined by Section 71.004, Family Code, committed by a
person who is also charged with an offense against the child,
elderly individual, or disabled individual under this section or
any other section of this title;
(ii) did not cause a condition described by
Subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3); and
(iii) did not reasonably believe at the
time of the omission that an effort to prevent the person also
charged with an offense against the child, elderly individual, or
disabled individual from committing the offense would have an
effect.
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Texas mother Deanna Laney admits fatally stoning her sons, ages 8 and 6, but claims she was insane at the time. She faces capital murder charges.
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 911 Call
The transcript of the chilling 911 call captures Deanna Laney admitting to stoning her children.
The Indictment
Laney was indicted for capital murder of her two eldest sons and for injuring her 14-month-old baby.
Notice of Intent
Citing Laney's mental illness, prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty.
Family Statement
The defendant's brother-in-law, a preacher, spoke publicy of the tragedy during a Mother's Day sermon.
Police Affidavit
A responding officer describes the grisly scene in this document.
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