Origin Traced by commentators to twelfth-century English common law; the modern formulation dates to William Hawkins's 1716 Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown.
The felony murder rule is a doctrine of criminal law, rooted in English common law, under which a person who causes a death, even accidentally, during the commission of a dangerous or statutorily enumerated felony can be convicted of murder without proof of an intent to kill, on the reasoning that the underlying felony itself supplies the malice the murder charge requires. Commentators trace the rule to the twelfth century, and its modern common law formulation is usually credited to William Hawkins's 1716 Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown; accomplices in the underlying felony can also be charged with murder for a death that results. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin PeriodTraced by commentators to twelfth-century English common law; the modern formulation dates to William Hawkins's 1716 Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown. 1 Core PrincipleA death that occurs during the commission of a dangerous or enumerated felony can support a murder conviction against the felon, and often an accomplice, without independent proof of intent to kill, because the intent to commit the underlying felony supplies the malice. 1 Origin Period
Origin Period (category)Early Modern (1500-1800) 1 Classification
Doctrine Category Connections
In Area Of Law
Entity-backed identity for the doctrine category value this doctrine already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a doctrine entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.
In Legal System
Source Felony Murder Rule (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Felony Murder Rule (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistorical origin section
necessarily tends to raise Tumults and Quarrels, and consequently cannot but be attended with the danger of personal hurt.
Lead section
The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (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-co
- In Legal System: Common Law
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
What is the felony murder rule?
A killing during a dangerous or enumerated crime can make the offender and accomplices guilty of murder, whatever the intent.
When someone is killed, regardless of intent to kill, in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime, the offender, and also the offender's accomplices or co-conspirators, may be found guilty of murder.
What limits apply to the felony murder rule?
The felony must be inherently dangerous, and the merger doctrine excludes felonies presupposed by a murder charge.
Modern interpretations typically require that the offence be an inherently dangerous one, or one committed in an obviously dangerous manner. The merger doctrine also excludes from the underlying offenses any felony that is presupposed by a murder charge, which prevents deaths during assaults from being counted as felony murder.
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