Amelia Alvarado, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas held that the trial court erred by refusing the appellant's specially requested jury instructions that limited the definitions of intent and knowledge to the result of conduct in an injury‑to‑a‑child case. The Court affirmed the correctness of Beggs and reversed the panel’s overruling of that precedent. Accordingly, the conviction was reversed and the case remanded for a new trial with proper instructions. The decision also rejected the panel’s view that the culpable mental states could be based on the nature of conduct alone.