Criminal homicide "occurs when a person unlawfully and knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another human being" (Gardner & Anderson, 2015, p. 260). According to the Texas Penal Code there are four ways criminal homicide can be committed in my jurisdiction. The types of criminal homicide are "murder, capital murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide" (Texas Penal Code, 2007). Murder is unlawful homicide with malice afterthought. Malice afterthought of murder focuses on the mental state of the offender. The mental state of the offender could be anger, rage, resentment or heat of passion. Legally a person commits murder if they intentionally cause the death of someone, intends to cause bodily harm or injury with the result of death, or commits or attempts to commit a felony that causes the death of a person. A person commits capital murder if they knowingly kill a peace officer or fireman, commits murder in the commission of a felony, commits murder while escaping a penal institution, commits murder while serving time in a penal institution and murders a person who is employed by a penal institution, the offender murders a child under the age of ten years old, and the offender murders a judge in retaliation. A person commits manslaughter if they recklessly kill another individual. A person commits criminal negligence homicide if they cause the death of an individual by criminal negligence.
First degree murders require deliberation, willfulness, and premeditation. If a prosecutor is trying to prove premeditation without the offender planning ahead of time one might have to gather evidence such as the offender having a weapon on them and that they might not have planned to kill the victim right then and there, but planned to kill them whenever the opportunity presented itself. The prosecutor might also have to prove that the offender had the specific intent to kill. Premeditation does not have to occur over a lengthy amount of time. Premeditation can be that an offender had some time enough to form a conscious thought with having the intent to kill but also have enough time to second guess their decision.