Reply #17: Cheney's Negligence -- Is it a felony?

[existentialist]

I also happened across this post ar tpm.com

I was going to post separately but it fits nicely within this thread.



Jerry Ward, Idaho Democrat
Cheney's Negligence -- Is it a felony?
By Jerry M. Ward | bio
I am an attorney from Idaho. I heard somebody in the media say something to the effect that if Mr. Whittington died, then there would "possibly" be an investigation, which got me thinking.

My uncle was shot in a hunting accident many years ago, and nearly died. It was clearly an accident, but I believe the shooter was charged (and of course, this occurred in Idaho). My thought was, whether Whittington dies or not, Cheney certainly appears to have been negligent, and arguably reckless. In Idaho we have a statute regarding "reckless endangerment," so I wondered if Texas has a similar charge. Since we have the casemaker library, which covers Texas in addition to other states, I decided to see what I could find.

Lo and behold, Texas Penal Code Title 5, Chapter 22.04(a)(3) makes it an offense for someone to injure an elderly person (over age 65) by an act of recklessness or criminal negligence. Subsection (f) or (g) would make it a "state jail felony."



PENAL 22.04