WASHINGTON — A new report from The Sentencing Project argues that felony murder laws have become an overlooked driver of mass incarceration and racial disparities in the U.S. criminal legal system, prompting renewed calls for nationwide reform.
According to The Sentencing Project, while murder is defined as an intentional killing, felony murder holds an individual accountable for murder if they participated in a felony that unintentionally led to someone’s death. Furthermore, murder sentences are imposed on people who did not intend to kill, did not anticipate a death and, in some cases, did not participate in the killing.
The report argues that felony murder laws contribute to injustice. With one in six people serving a life sentence in the United States, the report contends that ending mass incarceration requires policy reform in this area. It further says these laws “disregard intent, violating basic principles of proportionality while failing to improve public safety.”
The report says the felony murder doctrine has largely been rejected in other countries. However, 48 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government continue to enforce felony murder laws. It further says these laws not only undermine justice but also waste taxpayer dollars and government resources.
The report identifies several findings that have fueled calls for policy reform. Felony murder convictions permit some of the “harshest punishments in the American legal system,” according to the report. Felony murder convictions permit or mandate life without parole, or LWOP, in 39 states, the District of Columbia and the federal system. About half of U.S. states also continue to allow the death penalty in felony murder cases, despite what the report says is a lack of research demonstrating benefits for public safety or crime reduction.
The report also discusses the disproportionate impact of felony murder laws on people of color and women. According to The Sentencing Project, in Pennsylvania alone, 80% of imprisoned people with a felony murder conviction were people of color, with 70% of those being African American. The report also references a California survey that found “72% of women serving life sentences for felony murder were not the person who committed the homicide.”
Furthermore, the report examines the effects of felony murder laws on young people. According to the report, “felony murder laws ignore the cognitive vulnerabilities of youth and emerging adults by assuming that they recognize the remote consequences of their own actions—and those of others in their group.” A Pennsylvania statistic found that nearly three-quarters of people serving life without parole for felony murder were 25 or younger at the time of the offense. Similarly, in Minnesota, “more than half of people charged with aiding and abetting felony murder in Minnesota were 25 or younger.”
The report argues that these findings call into question the effectiveness of felony murder laws and whether they punish individuals proportionately to the crimes they committed.
Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph.D., director of research at The Sentencing Project and co-author of the report, said, “With one in six people in U.S. prisons serving a life sentence, addressing mass incarceration requires confronting laws that continue to funnel people into some of the most extreme punishments in our legal system, including felony murder statutes.”
Nonprofits such as The Sentencing Project and Fair and Just Prosecution are advocating for states to repeal or reform felony murder statutes. According to The Sentencing Project, reforms should “[eliminate] death and LWOP as sentencing options; [protect] minors and emerging adults from the felony murder rule; [end] accomplice liability,” and prioritize intent requirements.
The report concludes with Ghandnoosh urging prosecutors to lead reform efforts and saying they have an opportunity to “ensure that punishment better reflects a person’s actual conduct, intent, and culpability.”
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