Emergency? Call Now Mario Del Prado, a Murder – Homicide Defense Attorney (Lawyer) in San Antonio, Bexar County, Advocates for a Strategic Defense
The most serious offense one may be charge with is murder. A Capital Murder charge carries a punishment of up to the Death Penalty or Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole. There are many ways that the State could charge one with Capital Murder. It is basically an intentional or knowing killing plus one additional “aggravating” factor – more than one victim, status of victim, age of victim etc…
Murder itself carries a penalty of up to life in the Texas Department of Corrections. It is obvious that if one finds themselves or a loved one charged with murder – they must immediately seek the counsel of an experienced, knowledgeable and extremely well qualified lawyer. This is no time for counsel who has little to no experience. The law in this area is multifold and you need a warrior who understands the defenses, justifications, lesser included offenses, mental status explanations and how to develop mitigation.
Mario Del Prado is a Board-Certified Criminal Law Specialist – so certified by The Texas Board of Legal Specialization for over half of his career. Mario has also been regularly identified as a Texas Super Lawyer and one of San Antonio’s best criminal lawyers. With over 35 years of devoted expertise on both sides of the aisle, Mario Del Prado is a seasoned legal expert in criminal defense. Mario Del Prado has achieved acquittals and dismissals in the most serious of cases – Capital Murder.
Experience in Murder Defense
Mario Del Prado’s outstanding record in defending murder cases speaks volumes about his skill in negotiating intricate legal systems. In numerous murder cases, from well-publicized to less obvious, he has effectively defended clients. He has established himself as a go-to homicide defense attorney in San Antonio, TX, thanks to his ability to achieve successful results in trying circumstances.
Mario Del Prado demolished the prosecution’s case in a well-known case by carefully reviewing the facts and the testimony of expert witnesses, leading to the client’s acquittal on first-degree murder charges. His skillful negotiation was demonstrated in another case, where a client facing severe murder charges could get a favourable plea agreement and reduced charges.
Law of Criminal Homicide in Texas
Sec. 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 the person:
(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;
(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, the person commits or attempts to commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual; or
(4) knowingly manufactures or delivers a controlled substance included in Penalty Group 1-B under Section 481.1022, Health and Safety Code, in violation of Section 481.1123, Health and Safety Code, and an individual dies as a result of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the individual’s body any amount of the controlled substance manufactured or delivered by the actor, regardless of whether the controlled substance was used by itself or with another substance, including a drug, adulterant, or dilutant.
(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.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(4) that the actor’s conduct in manufacturing or delivering the controlled substance was authorized under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or other state or federal law.
Sec. 19.03. CAPITAL MURDER.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:
(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the person knows is a peace officer or fireman;
(2) the person intentionally 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 under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6);
(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;
(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or attempting to escape from a penal institution;
(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal institution, murders another:
(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal institution; or
(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;
(6) the person:
(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this section or Section 19.02, murders another; or
(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another;
(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;
(8) the person murders an individual under 10 years of age;
(9) the person murders an individual 10 years of age or older but younger than 15 years of age; or
(10) the person murders another person in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court.
(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.
(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the actor is presumed to have known the person murdered was a peace officer or fireman if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person’s employment as a peace officer or fireman.
Sec. 19.04. MANSLAUGHTER.
(a) A person commits an offense if he recklessly causes the death of an individual.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant committed an offense under Section 28.09 and that conduct caused the death of an individual.
Sec. 19.05. CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE.
(a) A person commits an offense if he causes the death of an individual by criminal negligence.
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
