Tex. Penal Code § 9.34 · Subchapter C. PROTECTION OF PERSONS
PROTECTION OF LIFE OR HEALTH.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person is justified in using force, but not deadly force, against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other from committing suicide or inflicting serious bodily injury to himself.
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an emergency.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 51cb34cf3debe82bd0ca309d847afcb96f2b72bb01d041d9ee9ae2670549963e
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 9.34. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.