Criminal homicide is defined as "A person commits criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence causes the death of an individual" (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 19.01). The three different ways that someone can commit a criminal homicide is through "murder, capital murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide" (Texas Penal Code, Section 19.01). The main determining factor for a person that commits murder is when one "intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual" (Texas Penal Code, sec. 19.02. Murder). The main element that distinguishes a capital offense is that the individual has to murder a law enforcement official on duty, or "commits the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat" (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 19.03), or murders a child under the age of 10, murders someone while escaping from prison or while incarcerated, or murders multiple people. The individual commits manslaughter when he or she "recklessly causes the death of an individual" (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 19.04). Lastly, a criminally negligent homicide occurs when "A person commits an offense if he causes the death of an individual by criminal negligence" (Texas Penal Code, Sec.19.05).
Premeditation is defined as "mental determination to unlawfully kill another person after planning or reflection on actions causing death" (Anderson & Gardner, 2015, p.273). Even though there might not be a case for premeditation, the prosecutor could make a case for premeditation because the defendant could have enough time to realize that murder is wrong and that maybe he or she could rethink the action that is about to be committed. The person is old enough to know that murder is wrong and knew that ahead of time but followed through with the action. Also, the person probably had an intention to impose serious bodily harm and this can be classified as murder. If the defendant had an intent to show serious bodily harm even though there was no intent for murder, the prosecutor can get a murder charge for the defendant "showing the kind of ‘extreme indifference to the value of human life' that is included in the definition of murder" (Gardner & Anderson, 2015, p.274).