What’s Worse: A 1st-Degree or 3rd-Degree Criminal Charge?

You may have heard recently about actor Gary Busey being charged with 2 counts of 4th-degree criminal sexual contact after a fan convention in New Jersey. But that unusual charge may prompt a question: Is a higher-degree charge worse than a 1st-degree charge?

Actually, it’s less of an offense.

In criminal law, a 1st-degree offense is the worst felony. It’s worse than a 2nd-degree offense, which is worse than a 3rd-degree offense, and so on. So the higher the degree, the lesser the crime.

That’s the opposite of, say, a description of burns. For burns, the higher the degree, the worse the burn. A 1st-degree burn is superficial. A 3rd-degree burn is far more severe.

Texas has varying degrees of felonies

Felonies tend to involve violent crimes. Any crime that can lead to punishment of up to 1 year in jail is a felony in Texas.

As the Texas Penal Code on punishments shows, the worst felonies in Texas are known as capital felonies. And the only type of capital felony in Texas is capital murder. Such a crime can involve offenses such as:

• Killing a police officer or fireman in the line of duty
• Killing someone in connection with a prison escape
• Killing a person for payment
• Killing a child under 10 years old

A capital felony is the only crime in Texas that can be punishable with the death penalty. Convictions of capital felonies can also lead to life in prison with no chance of parole.

After capital felonies, Texas felonies have varying degrees—1st-degree felonies (such as murder, arson causing death or aggravated sexual assault), the still serious but less severely punished 2nd-degree felonies (such as sexual assault, manslaughter and human trafficking), and the even less severe 3rd-degree felonies (such as stalking, evading arrest in a vehicle and continuous family violence).

Punishments for all 3 of these degrees of crime can include at least 10 years in prison.

Beyond that, Texas doesn’t have 4th-degree offenses. Instead, Texas’s lowest level of felonies are known as state jail felonies. Those offenses include firearm theft and possession of child pornography.

Such state jail felonies can also bring prison time, as their name indicates. Upon conviction, an offender could be sentenced to at least 180 days and up to 2 years in prison and could be fined up to $10,000.

Busey faces multiple charges

In Busey’s case, he was charged with 2 counts of 4th-degree criminal sexual contact, 1 count of attempted criminal sexual contact and 1 count of harassment when arrested by Cherry Hill, NJ, police after appearing there at a yearly Monster Mania convention for horror film fans.

If convicted of such charges, Busey could face up to a $10,000 fine and jail time of up to 18 months.

As you can see, the punishment for a 4th-degree felony in New Jersey is comparable to that for a state jail felony in Texas.

Busey, 78, has Texas roots. He was born in Goose Creek—now Baytown—in the Houston area, and he was raised in Oklahoma. He’s best known for acting in such films as “Point Break,” “Lethal Weapon” and 1978’s “The Buddy Holly Story,” for which he received an Oscar nomination as best actor in a leading role.

Get an experienced criminal defense lawyer

If you or a loved one faces any degree of a felony charge in Houston, Sugar Land, The Woodlands or elsewhere in Harris County, Fort Bend County or Montgomery County, Texas, contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer at the Neal Davis Law Firm today to arrange a consultation.