That’s the thing about felony murder. If her death occurred as a result of their commission of a felony, then they should be on the hook for felony murder. It doesn’t matter that they didn’t directly kill her.
Felony murder isn’t a phrase to disambiguate between a murder that’s a felony and some kind of nonexistent misdemeanor murder. It refers to a very specific type of “murder” where somebody dies as a result of somebody else committing a felony. The commission of the felony is enough to make the person liable - they don’t have to have intended to kill anybody in the process or be directly involved in the death.
Four unarmed teenagers break into a house. The homeowner shoots and kills one of them. The three survivors are all liable for felony murder for the fourth’s death, and can face life in prison or even a death sentence.
A group of criminals break into a house. One stays outside as a lookout, completely unaware of what is happening in the house. The elderly homeowner tries to stop the criminals in the house, but slips and falls and hits his head and dies from a brain hemorrhage. The lookout is liable for felony murder.
Two cops are having a disagreement at work. They get a call of a burglary in progress and drive out there and start chasing the suspect. One of the cops shoots at the suspect, but “accidentally” misses and fatally wounds the other cop they were fighting with back at the station. The burglar is liable for felony murder for the cop’s death.
If the same standards were applied to the criminals who raided the journalist’s house, then they’d all be charged with felony murder.
There probably is no way to actually legally prove that they’re at fault. But if I was one of those cops, I’d have trouble sleeping at night.
That’s probably why you’re not a cop
That’s the thing about felony murder. If her death occurred as a result of their commission of a felony, then they should be on the hook for felony murder. It doesn’t matter that they didn’t directly kill her.
Felony murder isn’t a phrase to disambiguate between a murder that’s a felony and some kind of nonexistent misdemeanor murder. It refers to a very specific type of “murder” where somebody dies as a result of somebody else committing a felony. The commission of the felony is enough to make the person liable - they don’t have to have intended to kill anybody in the process or be directly involved in the death.
Four unarmed teenagers break into a house. The homeowner shoots and kills one of them. The three survivors are all liable for felony murder for the fourth’s death, and can face life in prison or even a death sentence.
A group of criminals break into a house. One stays outside as a lookout, completely unaware of what is happening in the house. The elderly homeowner tries to stop the criminals in the house, but slips and falls and hits his head and dies from a brain hemorrhage. The lookout is liable for felony murder.
Two cops are having a disagreement at work. They get a call of a burglary in progress and drive out there and start chasing the suspect. One of the cops shoots at the suspect, but “accidentally” misses and fatally wounds the other cop they were fighting with back at the station. The burglar is liable for felony murder for the cop’s death.
If the same standards were applied to the criminals who raided the journalist’s house, then they’d all be charged with felony murder.