Most jurisdictions in the United States of America maintain the felony murder rule. 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." It is a widely criticized feature of American criminal law. 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. Its historic roots have been called "deep but terribly obscure".
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. 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. Further, whether the murder is considered first or second degree murder depends on the jurisdiction.
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, 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, 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, , 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."
Application and limitations of the rule
The law of felony-murder in the United States varies substantially jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It has been abolished by Hawaii, Kentucky, and Michigan. Most states limit the rule to deaths caused negligently during the commission of a felony. While California uses the enumerated felonies approach, Texas requires that the defendant committed an act clearly dangerous to human life during the commission of a felony, and Alabama uses both approaches. All jurisdictions have limited the application of the felony murder rule to those who have committed or attempted certain felonies. The traditional predicate felonies (felonies which are either enumerated or considered "inherently dangerous") are "burglary, arson, robbery, rape, and kidnapping" (informally "BARRK crimes").
Inherently dangerous felony limitation
The inherently dangerous felony approach is the most popular limitation on the rule. It is further divided into two subtypes. The majority of jurisdictions using this limitation look at whether the felony was inherently dangerous by looking at the facts of the case before the court, i.e. "based on the manner in which the felony was committed." The abstract approach which looks at the elements of the predicate felony in the abstract and not the particular facts of the case before the court is the minority approach. In California, examples of felonies that have been identified as "inherently dangerous" in the abstract include kidnapping and arson of a motor vehicle. While felonies that have not been found to be inherently dangerous in the abstract include prison escape and grand theft.