Actually, we are criminally liable only if we acted recklessly. There are four mental culpable states defined in Texas law: (1) intentional; (2) knowing; (3) reckless; and, (4) criminal negligence. Reckless applies to this situation:Vol Texan wrote:What bothers me is that if such a thing happened to me (or any of us) and we accidentally injured someone else, then we are criminally liable for it. I know it's the law, and I agreed to such when I got my CHL, but why the extra punishment for us?
Here are the definitions of the culpable mental states:PC §9.05. RECKLESS INJURY OF INNOCENT THIRD PERSON.
Even though an actor is justified under this chapter in threatening or using force or deadly force against another, if in doing so he also recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person, the justification afforded by this chapter is unavailable in a prosecution for the reckless injury or killing of the innocent third person.
This is one example situation where having a competitive history with IPDA, CASS, or USPSA could conceivably help your case. For example, if you have a history of IPDA competitions where you commonly score near the top of the field in accuracy, that supports your contention that you honestly believed you could make the shot and thus were not acting recklessly. The fact that you hit someone else will still be a civil issue, obviously, but if you have a defense on why your actions were not reckless in light of the totality of circumstances, you should not be convicted of injuring an innocent third party.Sec. 6.03. DEFINITIONS OF CULPABLE MENTAL STATES. (a) A person acts intentionally, or with intent, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to a result of his conduct when it is his conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.
(b) A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to circumstances surrounding his conduct when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.
(c) A person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint.
(d) A person acts with criminal negligence, or is criminally negligent, with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the actor's standpoint.