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State-by-state differences in felony-murder laws highlighted by NCSL and CSG South
Summary
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.
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.
Erin Toomey of the Council of State Governments described Southern-state statutory variations and highlighted Louisiana's statute (revised section 14:10) as an example that distinguishes specific and general intent; she suggested Tennessee could consider inserting clarified intent language into its criminal-responsibility provisions rather than wholesale repeal. Both presenters offered to provide statutory language samples and comparative data to committee staff.
