Texas Penal Code 71.05 – Renunciation Defense
(a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under § 71.02 that under circumstances manifesting a voluntary and complete renunciation of the actor‘s criminal objective, the actor withdrew from the combination before commission of an offense listed in § 71.02(a) and took further affirmative action that prevented the commission of the offense.
(b) For the purposes of this section and Subsection (d) of § 71.02, renunciation is not voluntary if it is motivated in whole or in part:
(1) by circumstances not present or apparent at the inception of the actor’s course of conduct that increase the probability of detection or apprehension or that make more difficult the accomplishment of the objective; or
(2) by a decision to postpone the criminal conduct until another time or to transfer the criminal act to another but similar objective or victim.
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 71.05
- Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
(c) Evidence that the defendant withdrew from the combination before commission of an offense listed in § 71.02(a) and made substantial effort to prevent the commission of an offense listed in § 71.02(a) shall be admissible as mitigation at the hearing on punishment if the actor has been found guilty under § 71.02, and in the event of a finding of renunciation under this subsection, the punishment shall be one grade lower than that provided under § 71.02.