Felony murder and the death penalty in the United States information
Most jurisdictions in the United States of America maintain the felony murder rule.[1] In essence, the felony murder rule states that when an offender kills (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in some jurisdictions), the offender, and also the offender's accomplices or co-conspirators, may be found guilty of murder. It means that the common law malice required for murder is "implied as a matter of law for homicides arising from felonies."[2] It is a widely criticized feature of American criminal law.[3] Initially, it was widely believed by scholars that the felony murder rule had originated in England. However, more recent scholarship has argued that it likely originated in America separately from England.[4] Its historic roots have been called "deep but terribly obscure".[5]
There are two forms of the felony murder doctrine practiced in the United States. The first uses a "dangerous felony" approach, which relies upon felonies which are thought to be dangerous listed in the felony-murder statute and if the defendant commits one of those felonies, it triggers the rule.[6] The other form requires that the defendant commit an act clearly dangerous to human life while committing a felony and does not rely on any enumerated felonies in a statute.[6] Further, whether the murder is considered first or second degree murder depends on the jurisdiction.[3]
The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not prohibit imposing the death penalty for felony murder. The Supreme Court has created a two-part test to determine when the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for felony murder. Under Enmund v. Florida,[7] the death penalty may not be imposed on someone who did not kill, attempt to kill, or intend that a killing take place. However, under Tison v. Arizona,[8] the death penalty may be imposed on someone who was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), the Court added with respect to the defendants in Tison it "allowed the defendants’ death sentences to stand where they did not themselves kill the victims but their involvement in the events leading up to the murders was active, recklessly indifferent, and substantial."[9]
^Sterling Root, Senior Thesis, Juvenile Culpability and the Felony Murder Rule: Applying the Enmund Standard to Juveniles Facing Felony Murder Charges, TRINITY COLL. DIG. REPOSITORY 12 (2016), https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1579& context=theses.
^WILLIAM L. CLAMR & WILLIAM L. MARSHALL, A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF CRIMES 656 (Marian Q. Barnes ed., 7th ed. 1967).
^ abGuyora Binder, Making the Best of Felony Murder, 91 B.U. L. REV. 403, 404 (2011).
^Guyora Binder, The Origins of American Felony Murder Rules, 57 Stan. L. Rev. 59 (2004). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_articles/298.
^James J. Tomkovicz, The Endurance of the Felony-Murder Rule: A Study of the Forces that Shape Our Criminal Law, 51 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1429 (1994), https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/ vol51/iss4/8
^ abCrump, David. "Panel Two: Unintentional Killings: Should We Have Different Views of Felony Murder, Depending on the Governing Statute?" Texas Tech Law Review 47, no. 113 (2014): 113-19. Accessed February 24, 2021. http://texastechlawreview.org/wpcontent/uploads/Crump.PUBLISHED.pdf
^Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982)
^Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (1987)
^"Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), Opinion of the Court, Part II". Justia US Supreme Court Center. June 25, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
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