ABOLISH FELONY MURDER NOW
ABOLISH FELONY MURDER NOW
Felony murder is a legal rule that allows someone to be convicted of murder even if they did not kill anyone, did not intend for anyone to die, and did not directly cause a death.
Under this doctrine, if a death occurs during the commission of certain felonies—such as robbery or burglary—everyone involved in that felony can be charged with murder. The law treats all participants as equally responsible for the death, regardless of their actual role, actions, or intent.
In practice, this means a person can receive a mandatory life sentence for being associated with a crime where a death occurred, even if the death was accidental, unforeseeable, or caused by someone else entirely.
Pennsylvania enforces one of the harshest felony murder laws in the country.
Under current law:
Intent does not matter.
Level of participation does not matter.
Whether the person caused the death does not matter.
If a death occurs during the course of a qualifying felony, a second-degree murder charge applies automatically. Judges and juries are prohibited from considering individual circumstances when imposing sentence. A conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
This rigidity removes discretion, ignores accountability differences, and results in punishment that often far exceeds a person’s actual culpability.
Many states have recognized the injustice of broad felony murder laws and have taken steps to reform or eliminate them.
Across the country:
Pennsylvania has not meaningfully updated its felony murder statute, leaving it out of step with modern legal standards, evolving understandings of justice, and national reform trends.
Felony murder laws disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities, people living in poverty, and young individuals with limited access to legal resources.
Those most affected often:
Had minor or peripheral involvement in an underlying offense
Were not present at the scene of a death
Lacked intent, foresight, or control over what occurred
Were charged aggressively through overbroad prosecutorial discretion
Families are left without parents, siblings, or children. Communities lose people who could otherwise be rehabilitated. Taxpayers shoulder the cost of decades-long incarceration with no measurable public safety benefit.
This is not accountability. It is punishment without proportionality.
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