I'm not sure if this has been discussed yet. Several news articles have mentioned KA was deported from CR. From a quick search, there is a difference in deportation and extradition. She could have been deported for being in the country unlawfully(using a stolen passport). My question is: could the death penalty still be on the table with deportation? It's off the table, of course, with extradition.
^
^bbm
Since the death penalty only applies to Capital Murder as defined by the Texas Penal Code, at this time, regardless of the issue of deportation or extradition, it does not appear that KA has budged from the Murder 1 charge filed against her on May 17, and not the subject of punishment by death.
More specifically, the offense is described in
Section 19.03 of the Texas Penal Code. The law was amended in the 86th Texas Legislature, through SB 719, effective September 1, 2019 (known as “Lauren’s Law.”).
(The new amendment is added in brackets below to the law as it was before the 2019 Legislative Session).
What is the law in Texas about 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; or
(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.
How can I be charged with Capital Murder?
You can be charged with
Capital Murder if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 19.03(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)
or (8), as described in the
section above have been met.