Instead of going around in circles over what felony murder could mean maybe you could state what you think Richard Allen's role actually was?
I know that you have made the point that if someone dies during the commission of a crime someone can be charged with murder. But most of us here don't think that is what happened here.
The defense has stated that the girls throats were slit, they bled out. That doesn't sound like an accident to me.
I would like to move past the language to better understand what your thoughts are.
JMO
My thoughts are that I don't know what happened and if he acted alone, but that he probably did it, maybe with others involved (either in the crime or before or after like KK with the Anthony Shots account).
The felony discussion is not about me thinking he didn't do it or is not involved, my question was why is he charged with "felony murder" and what does it mean in general and what could it mean in this case. And what the prosecution can prove and can't prove, meaning, what evidence they have. And the "felony murder" charge probably means, in my opinion, that they have no evidence that he actually killed them, things like DNA, fingerprints, etc. This is also not about if they think he did it or if I think he did it, it's about what can be proven in court. And it could also mean that they think others are involved or are not sure about it or, like now, what the defense might bring up that might make the jury think others were involved, which could cause reasonable doubt.
This was never about me thinking he didn't do it or wasn't at least involved (the kidnapping alone shows he was), this was about all that legal stuff and what it could mean, why they charged him with that, what evidence they probably don't have, and if they can't prove murder, they have to charge him with something else or the jury will find him not guilty (reasonable doubt).
I also wanted to post this link:
The statute defining murder is very simple in Indiana. In order to convict someone of murder, the State must prove that: The Defendant; Knowingly; Killed; Another person. Can You Be Charged With Murder if You Never Killed Someone? This is by far the most common method in which individuals are...
banksbrower.com
"Can You Be Charged With Murder if You Never Killed Someone?
This is by far the most common method in which individuals are charged with the intentional killing of another. It is important to understand, however, that it is possible to be charged with murder even if you are not the person that killed another.
The doctrine of felony murder allows the State to prosecute individuals for murder even if they are not the person that directly caused the death of another. A person convicted of felony murder faces the same penalty range as murder (45-65 years). To convict someone of felony murder, the State must prove that a death occurred while the defendant was committing or attempting to commit one of these felonies:
- Burglary
- Child molest
- Arson
- Rape
- Kidnapping
- Robbery
- Carjacking
- Drug Dealing/Manufacturing
The idea behind the felony murder statute is that the above listed felonies are so inherently dangerous on their own that a death could reasonably occur as the crime is taking place. The legislature reasons that these crimes are so dangerous that
any death that occurs through the commission of them should have been foreseeable to the defendants. Therefore, if a death occurs during the commission of these felonies, everyone that participated in the underlying felony is responsible for that death."