The Most Serious Charge
Intoxication Manslaughter in Texas
Section 49.08 makes it a second degree felony to cause the death of another by accident or mistake, by reason of intoxication. The range is two to twenty years.
The law here changed significantly on September 1, 2025, and much of what is published about it is either out of date or describes a bill version that was not enacted.
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What changed in 2025
Three separate routes now raise intoxication manslaughter to a first degree felony, carrying five to ninety nine years or life:
- where the victim was a public servant of the kind listed for intoxication assault enhancements
- where more than one person died in the same criminal transaction
- where the driver had a prior intoxication offense conviction and was violating Penal Code chapter 51 at the time
A caution on secondary sources. Descriptions of a mandatory ten year minimum reflect an earlier version of the bill that was not the version enacted. The codified result is the first degree range.
Separately, article 42A.059 removes community supervision entirely, including deferred, for intoxication manslaughter punishable under one specific prong of the 2025 amendments. That prong needs to be identified precisely, because two versions of the same subsection now coexist in the code and both contain a subdivision numbered (2).
Where the ordinary offense stands
For an intoxication manslaughter charge that is not enhanced, the offense remains a second degree felony with a range of two to twenty years.
Probation is possible but rare, and where it is granted article 42A.401(a)(5) requires a minimum jail condition of 120 days. Deferred adjudication is not available at all.
License suspension on conviction runs 180 days to two years under section 521.344(b).
As with intoxication assault, causation is the element that most often decides these cases. The death has to result from the intoxication, and where another cause explains the collision that link is contestable regardless of how serious the outcome was.
How causation is evaluated
Under Texas Penal Code section 49.08, a death and alleged intoxication occurring together do not end the causation analysis. Collision reconstruction can draw on scene photographs and measurements, vehicle damage, event-data information when available, 911 calls, witness accounts, and video from patrol units, traffic systems, or nearby properties. That evidence can show speed, movement, visibility, evasive action, and other causes that must be considered.
Toxicology and specimen records address whether intoxication can be proved at the relevant time, while medical and autopsy records address the cause of death. Those records should be compared rather than treated as interchangeable. Early preservation requests can matter because third-party video may be overwritten and vehicles or electronic data may not remain available indefinitely.
Bond conditions
An ignition interlock is a mandatory bond condition for any charge under section 49.08, installed within thirty days under article 17.441.
Getting the citation right
Because two versions of the enhancement subsection coexist after 2025, any advice about which prong applies has to identify it precisely rather than by number alone.
Related pages
Intoxication manslaughter questions
What is the sentencing range?
Two to twenty years as a second degree felony. Where one of the 2025 enhancement routes applies it becomes a first degree felony, five to ninety nine years or life.
I read there is a ten year minimum.
That describes an earlier version of the 2025 bill rather than the law as enacted. The codified result is the first degree range where an enhancement applies.
Is probation possible?
Rarely, and where granted it carries a minimum 120 day jail condition under article 42A.401(a)(5). For cases falling under one specific 2025 prong, community supervision is removed entirely by article 42A.059.
Is deferred adjudication available?
No.