State-by-state differences in felony-murder laws highlighted by NCSL and CSG South
Presentations from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments summarized national and Southern patterns: most states retain felony-murder but many have narrowed or reclassified it; presenters offered examples from California, Minnesota, Louisiana and Arkansas.
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Amanda Essex of the National Conference of State Legislatures walked members through common approaches states use to limit felony-murder doctrine, noting four major trends: restricting eligible underlying felonies, tightening proximate-cause requirements, narrowing the felonyperiod, or requiring the underlying felony be independent of the homicide. "Almost every state has a felony murder law on the books, although Hawaii and Kentucky are the 2 that do not," she said.
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