FELONY
A serious crime, characterized under federal
law and many state statutes as any offense punish-
able by death or imprisonment in excess of one
year.
Under the early COMMON LAW, felonies
were crimes involving moral turpitude, those
which violated the moral standards of a com-
munity. Later, however, crimes that did not
involve mortal turpitude became included in the
definition of a felony.
Presently many state statutes list various
classes of felonies with penalties commensurate
with the gravity of the offense. Crimes classified
as felonies include, among others, TREASON,
ARSON,murder,rape, ROBBERY, BURGLARY,
MANSLAUGHTER, and KIDNAPPING.
FELONY-MURDER RULE
A RULE OF LAW that holds that if a killing occurs
during the commission or attempted commission
of a felony (a major crime), the person or persons
responsible for the felony can be charged with
murder.
Generally an intent to kill is not necessary
for felony-murder. The rule becomes operative
when there is a killing during or a death soon
after the felony, and there is some causal con-
nection between the felony and the killing.
The felony-murder rule originated in Eng-
land under the COMMON LAW. Initially it was
strictly applied, encompassing any death that
occurred during the course of a felony, regard-
less of who caused it. Therefore, if a police offi-
cer attempting to stop a ROBBERY accidentally
shot and killed an innocent passerby, the robber
could be charged with murder.
Today most jurisdictions have limited the
rule by requiring that the felony must be a dan-
gerous one or that the killing is foreseeable, or
both. Statutes that restrict the application of the
rule to dangerous felonies usually enumerate the
crimes. BURGLARY, KIDNAPPING, rape, and rob-
bery are typical felonies that invoke the rule.
Under a number of statutes, the felony must be
a proximate cause of the death. In other words,
the killing must have been a natural and direct
consequence of the felony.
Felony-murder cannot be charged if all the
elements of the felony are included in the ele-
ments of murder. This is known as the merger
doctrine, which holds that if the underlying
felony merges with the killing, the felony cannot
constitute felony-murder. For example, all of the
elements of ASSAULT AND BATTERY with a
deadly weapon are included in murder. If a
killing, therefore, occurred during the course of
this crime, the accused would be charged with
murder.
The future of the felony-murder rule is in
doubt. Some jurisdictions have abolished the
rule and others continue to limit its application.
In the 1982 case of Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S.
782, 102 S. Ct. 3368, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1140, the
Supreme Court ruled that the imposition of the
death penalty upon an ACCOMPLICE who nei-
ther kills, attempts to kill, or intends that a
killing occur or lethal force be used in the com-
mission of a felony-murder constitutes CRUEL
AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT. In those states that
have retained the offense, it is usually classified
as murder in the first degree, for which the
