ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the culpability requirements of criminal law in the context of felony murder. In order to be found guilty of a crime, the court must determine the state of mind with which an offender acted. American criminal codes define the four levels of culpability, or criminal states of mind, as purposely, knowingly, recklessly, and negligently. The chapter first discusses the case of Homer Simpson, who was found guilty of murder after a wounded victim died in a course of a bank robbery. Due to the felony-murder rule, any killing that occurs during a felony is elevated to murder, despite Simpson’s role as only an accomplice. The chapter then discusses a case in the United Kingdom, where felony murder was abolished, in which a man was not prosecuted for murder despite his involvement in a robbery with a child-murdering couple. The remainder of the chapter discusses the diversity in state felony-murder rules, revealing how the level of culpability required to be found guilty of felony murder differs across the states. Finally, the chapter discusses how the felony-murder rule conflicts with or upholds the various distributive principles.
