Does the charge of Felony Murder exist in the U.S. If so, then?

Question

Consider this scenario

A criminal commits a crime and runs off. A law enforcement officer chases after him and suffers a fatal heart attack.

Does this apply to the charge of Felony Murder?

I may be wrong but I thought Felony Murder was if someone died in the commission of a crime whether it be deliberate or not

Answer 1

Your scenario is an interesting twist on the rule, but it's not, technically, felony murder. The felony murder rule kicks in when in the course of committing a felony somebody is killed under circumstances where it would be, absent the perpetration of the felony, something other than murder one. An example is where during a bank robbery - a felony - a perp takes a shot at a guard, misses, the bullet ricochets off a wall and kills an innocent bystander. Absent the felony, this would be manslaughter, but given the felony, it turns into murder one, or "felony murder". If under a state's statutes, the act of the "getaway" is still considered part of the "felony", a death caused by the fleeing perps would also be defined as felony murder, whereas otherwise it would only be vehicular homicide. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

No, I do not believe that would constitute felony murder. A felony murder is when, in the act of committing a crime, the criminal "directly" instigates something that results in someones death. That could be a shooting, stabbing, hit and run, etc.

In the case you described, however, the criminal is not directly responsible for the cop's heart attack. Since the cop had a heart attack, there was probably some condition like a heart condition or them being overweight that made it easier for the person to get a heart attack. Plus, cops are supposed to be in good physical condition so as to be better able to chase criminals.

If the cop had a heart attack just because he/she was chasing a criminal, what mad that chase any different than them running or something else?

Meaning, if all it took for them to get a heart attack was to chase a criminal, why didn't they get a heart attack at any of the other times they were chasing criminals , or even exercising? This is why the criminal he/she was chasing would not be charged with felony murder.

Answer 3

That depends on the state. It CAN BE considered felony murder.

Felony murder is defined when a death occurs during the commission of a felony (i.e. burglary, robbery, etc.). Murder is a felony in and of itself, however to be "felony" murder, a death -- intentional or not, planned or not -- must occur during the commission of another felony.

It DOES NOT MATTER that you didn't want or intend someone to die, so saying "that wasn't the plan" doesn't work as a defense. It also DOES NOT MATTER that you actually didn't "kill" the officer -- meaning, in this case that the he died of a heart attack. All that matters is that a death -- intentional, accidental, or natural -- occurred during the commission of a felony that the criminal decided to do. In many states that makes the criminal guilty of killing the other person -- guilty of felony murder.

Now, depending on the state, running off can still be considered during the commission of the felony -- thus a death during that time counts for felony murder.

Answer 4

truly, maximum crimes are dedicated by folk. yet often times a company or association is charged. businesses are in a lot of situations charged with pollutants, funds laundering, deceptive practices, securities fraud and so on. for sure i imagine that's optimum to value the persons. yet they could no longer have accepted who the accountable ones were, and with the statute of limitations through expire, charging the corporate is extra positive than no longer some thing. often times the human beings who're doing the criminality are workers basically doing a job that they have got been advised replaced into legal and fairly are not criminally accountable. for sure the President or Board bears duty for the businesses' activities no matter if that's got here upon that they ordered the interest. This also opens the door for civil courtroom situations and fines.

Answer 5

You would have to prove that the heart attack would not have happened otherwise. I think if he tripped and fell down a well as he was chasing after him that would be considered murder but not a heart attck because there are too many variables and remember the burden of proof lies with the state. That would be a hard thing to prove. I actually took a criminal justice class but I can't remember all the stuff now.

Answer 6

No it doesn't.
Murder is a felony #1
#2 What does the officer having a heart attack have to do with it.
It would be called "dying in the line of duty." and although that would be a tragedy nobody is going to get charged for a crime because an officer had a heart condition.

Answer 7

too many ifs.it could be called killed in the line of duty or just that he died on duty.also depends upon medical history.a officer in geotgis had a heart attack while fighting with a guy and he lost.he had medical history he kept from the dept so he also lost.although the criminal did contribute to the death it would not be murder

Answer 8

It could. I have heard of a case, where a girl friend of a guy who shot a cop was already handcuffed in the back of the police car when the shooting took place. She was sentenced for the shooting (he got off because he had some drug dealer to give up). Hail 'Justice'. ~

Answer 9

Hold up, people are talking about two different things here: 1- Felony Murder Rule 2- The Rule of Parties, deciding whether all participants in a crime (felony) will be charged with all the consequences of the crime, like a murder committed in the course of a robbery. It is confusing. The two arise together in some controversial prosecutions, and the answers aren't on wikipedia, dammit. Pretty sure the US Dept of Justice website would have the state-by-state info. Don't get sidetracked. I'll look tomorrowzzz.

Answer 10

No, that is not felony Murder. It was not planned and executed to kill that person.