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felony mur·der rule

The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the commission of a felony, the offender can be charged with murder. Second, it makes any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of that felony. While there is debate about the original scope of the rule, modern interpretations typically require that the felony be an inherently dangerous one, or one committed in an obviously dangerous manner. For this reason, the felony murder rule is often justified by its supporters as a means of deterring dangerous felonies. According to some commentators, the common law rule dates to the twelfth century and took its modern form in the eighteenth century. Critics of the rule argue that the rule is unjust because it requires no intent to kill. In favor of the rule it can be argued that the rule affirms for principle of the sanctity of human life by imposing harsher penalties for crimes that destroy human life. The rule has been abolished in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland. In some jurisdictions, the common law felony murder rule has been abolished, but has been replaced by a similar statutory provision.

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