MANSLAUGHTER

Manslaughter under Texas Penal Code § 19.04 requires the State to prove that a person recklessly caused the death of an individual. Recklessness, defined by Texas Penal Code § 6.03(c), means the person was aware of but consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would result, and that disregarding the risk was a gross deviation from the standard of care an ordinary person would exercise in the circumstances. No intent to kill or injure is required — that is what separates manslaughter from murder under § 19.02, which requires an intentional or knowing killing or an intent to cause serious bodily injury. It is likewise distinct from criminally negligent homicide under § 19.05, where the actor fails to perceive the risk rather than consciously disregarding it. Subsection (b) classifies the offense as a second-degree felony.

Ranges are the statutory maximums for the level; enhancements, prior convictions and plea agreements change what is actually imposed.

Across 570 Texas bail settings for this charge (3 counties, Nov 2022 – Jun 2025), the median cash or surety bond was $75,000 (middle half: $30,000 – $150,000). 3% of defendants were released on a personal bond, and bail was denied in 53 cases. When this was the only charge at booking (201 records), the median was $75,000 and 1% got a personal bond.

Showing the 3 counties with the most records; use the selector for any county with at least 30. Per-charge bond settings on original magistrations, from Texas OCA bail reporting under SB 6. Bail is set case by case — these are statistics, not a prediction.

Of 340 MANSLAUGHTER charges filed 2019–2023 across 14 counties (Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, FortBend, Galveston, Harris, Hays, Montgomery, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson), 92% have reached a disposition:

How long it takes: the median MANSLAUGHTER charge took 688 days from filing to disposition (middle half: 412 – 948 days, 340 charges).

Outcome is the final disposition recorded on the charge. “Other” (3) covers waived counts, bond forfeitures, transfers and unrecorded outcomes. Bexar County records disposition dates but not outcomes, so it counts toward time-to-disposition only. Tarrant County criminal records are not in this dataset.