Maryland lawmakers hear competing views on felony-murder doctrine and data gaps

The House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 16 heard competing testimony over Maryland's felony-murder doctrine, a legal theory that can convert participation in certain felonies into a first-degree murder charge even when the defendant did not intend to kill.

Office of the Public Defender attorneys told the committee that felony murder operates as a strict-liability offense in Maryland and produces harsh, disproportionate sentences for people who were not the triggerman or who lacked intent to kill. Natasha D'Artig, Maryland public defender, told the panel: "Felony murder as it's currently defined is a legal doctrine that allows someone to be charged with and convicted of first degree murder if they participated in certain felonies in the course of which someone is killed, even if they did not intend to kill, did not actually kill, or did not know anyone was killed." D'Artig said reform should require the state to prove intent to kill in all first-degree murder cases and urged retroactive relief for people serving sentences grounded in felony-murder theories.

The Vera Institute of Justice presented national context and research on reform. Adrienne Onyekwari, senior program associate with Vera's Reshaping Prosecution initiative, summarized variations across states and the two dominant legal theories—agency and proximate cause—that determine how…