http://gawker.com/texas-says-its-ok-to-shoot-an-escort-if-she-wont-have-511636423 [quote] SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A South Texas man has been acquitted in the shooting death of a woman he met on Craigslist as a possible escort. A jury in San Antonio on Wednesday acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of murder. The defense says Gilbert was protecting himself from theft when he shot Lenora Frago on Christmas Eve 2009. She died several months later. Attorneys for Gilbert say he paid the woman $150 to have sex — then she refused, balked at returning the money and said she had to give the cash to her driver. The defense said Gilbert's actions were justified because he was trying to retrieve stolen property and the driver was part of the theft scheme. Prosecutors say Gilbert got mad and shot Frago when she refused to have sex with him. --- A jury in Bexar County, Texas just acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of charges that he murdered a 23-year-old Craigslist escort—agreeing that because he was attempting to retrieve the $150 he'd paid to Frago, who wouldn't have sex with him, his actions were justified. Gilbert had admitted to shooting Lenora Ivie Frago in the neck on Christmas Eve 2009, when she accepted $150 from Gilbert and left his home without having sex with him. Frago, who was paralyzed by the shooting, died several months later. Gilbert's defense argued that the shooting wasn't meant to kill, and that Gilbert's actions were justified, because he believed that sex was included as part of the fee. Texas law allows people "to use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft." The 30-year-old hugged his defense attorneys after the "not guilty" verdict was read by the judge. If convicted, he could have faced life in prison. He thanked God, his lawyers, and the jury for being able to "see what wasn't the truth." Anyone else bothered that Texas allows you to shoot people just cause they stole something from you even when you were in no danger?[/quote] TLDR: Texas law allows self defense to recover stolen goods. Woman is paid $150, refuses to have sex. Is shot, eventually dies. Note: Prostitution is illegal in Texas IIRC. Since it is an illegal act, the man was entitled absolutely nothing[i], he shot the woman because she refused to commit an illegal act. [/i]