katydid23
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- Jan 10, 2011
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Oh no - I didn't think you were buying the defense argument. I also like to play "devil's advocate" or at least try to figure out what someone else was thinking. I wonder if PS' death by thermal injuries will be used for felony murder when those charges are made.
I am not a lawyer - just have a lot of not necessarily well-supported opinions/thoughts. the way I read the DC statutes, the perpetrator only had to be guilty of participating in a felony at the time (entire time frame of the crime) of the murder for it to be felony murder. So if I kidnap someone, if my friend flips out and shoots our kidnap victim, I go down for felony murder. I guess that's what you're saying - if we hadn't kidnapped the victim, he wouldn't have been in a position to be shot. Also, the crime would have included a deadly weapon. I thought I read if arson is committed during the time of a murder, it qualifies for felony murder. But I'm on my iPad and can't check. What if I burst into someone's house to rob them with a gun (violent felony) and the home owner has a heart attack? Can that be felony murder?
YES. I have seen cases like that. We had a local case of a home invasion of an elderly couple. The man, Bless His Heart, had a stroke and died while they were tied up. The perps went down for murder. I don't have a link now though. Just from memory of a sad local crime.