Change the Felony Murder Rule in Florida

Citizens committed to Legislation that will change the Felony Murder Rule in Florida

What is the Felony Murder Rule?
The Felony Murder Rule, as used in Florida, states that anyone involved in certain felonies (armed robbery, kidnapping, rape), and if in the commission of that felony, no matter their level of involvement, a death occurs, all people involved in the felony will be charged with First Degree Murder and sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole, or the Death Penalty, the only two options for sentencing.

Preface/Definitions

a. First-Degree Murder: When perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or any human being;

b. Second-Degree Murder: The unlawful killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual, is murder in the second degree

c. Voluntary Manslaughter: The killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or culpable negligence of another, without lawful justification

d. Felony Murder Rule: The felony murder rule falls under murder subsection 3. People charged with felony murder are convicted of First Degree Murder, a charge that requires premeditation and intent.

What’s Wrong With The Felony Murder Rule- Common Sense:

1. It is fundamentally unfair and in violation of basic principles of individual criminal culpability to hold one felon liable for the unseen and unagreed-to results of another felon’s action.

2. The felony murder rule operates as a matter of law upon proof of the intent to commit a felony to relieve the prosecution of its burden of proving intent to kill, which is a necessary element of murder.

3. The intention to commit a felony does not equal the intention to kill, nor is the intention to commit a felony, by itself, sufficient to establish a charge of murder.

4. The felony murder rule violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process, more specifically, equal protection of the law, because no defense is allowed on the charge of first-degree murder, only the underlying felony.

5. The purpose of creating degrees of murder is to punish with increased severity the more culpable forms of murder, but an accidental or unknown killing during the commission or attempted commission of a felony is punished more severely than all other murder charges with exception to first degree murder.

6. The felony murder rule erodes the relation between criminal liability and moral culpability in that it punishes all homicides in the commission, or attempted commission, of the proscribed felonies, whether intentional, unintentional, or accidental, without proving the relation between the homicide and the perpetrator’s state of mind.

7. Holding one or many criminally liable for the bad results of an act which differs greatly from the intended results is based on a concept of culpability which is totally at odds with the general principles of jurisprudence.

8. The basic rule of culpability is further violated when felony murder is categorized as first-degree murder because all other first-degree murders (carrying equal punishment) require a showing of premeditation, deliberation, and willfulness, while felony murder only requires a showing of intent to do the underlying felony.

9. While the felony murder rule survives in Florida, and other states, the numerous modifications and restrictions of it by some states courts and legislatures throughout the United States reflect dissatisfaction with the basic harshness and injustice of the doctrine and call into question its continued existence.

10. The felony murder rule can be used by prosecutors in a manner so as to cause grossly disproportionate sentencing, depending on the circumstances of each individual case.

11. The felony murder rule is unconstitutional because the presumption of innocence is thrown out. The prosecutor must only prove intent to commit the original felony; once done, first degree murder attaches to the underlying felony even though intent, (mens rea,) to commit murder does not have to be proved.

12. The felony murder rule is unconstitutional because it violates the Eighth Amendment: cruel and unusual punishment, grossly disproportionate sentencing to the crime(s) actually committed.

13. The felony murder rule bears no rational relationship or equity in its two penalties, with the penalties of other Florida murder laws, including, at times, the charge of first-degree murder.

https://felonymurderflorida.wordpress.com/about/

Deus X wrote:Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982)

Primary Holding

Sentencing a defendant to death based on the felony murder rule violates the Eighth Amendment because the defendant did not kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill anyone.

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/458/782/







458 U.S. 782

Enmund v. Florida (No. 81-5321)


Argued: March 23, 1982

Decided: July 2, 1982

399 So.2d 1362, reversed and remanded.

Syllabus
Opinion, White
Concurrence, Brennan
Dissent, O'Connor
Syllabus

Petitioner and a codefendant, at a jury trial in a Florida court, were convicted of first-degree murder and robbery of two elderly persons at their farmhouse, and were sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed. The court held that, although the record supported no more than the inference that petitioner was the person in a car parked by the side of the road near the farmhouse at the time of the killings waiting to help the robbers and killers (the codefendant and another) escape, this was enough under Florida law to make petitioner a constructive aider and abettor and hence a principal in first-degree murder upon whom the death penalty could be imposed. It was thus irrelevant to petitioner's challenge to the death sentence that he did not himself kill and was not present at the killings, or whether he intended that the victims be killed or anticipated that lethal force might be used to effectuate the robbery or escape.

Held: The imposition of the death penalty upon petitioner is inconsistent with the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 788-801.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/458/782

What should I do? I put this here in support of an old and dear friend whose son has been in prison for 20+ years. I think he had a lousy attorney, and so far as I know, he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people", who happened to be from another state and visiting in his neighborhood. I have a hard time believing he intended to kill anyone, but there he is, year after year, and it's so hard on her. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago.

Floridatexan wrote:
What should I do?  I put this here in support of an old and dear friend whose son has been in prison for 20+ years.  I think he had a lousy attorney, and so far as I know, he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people", who happened to be from another state and visiting in his neighborhood.  I have a hard time believing he intended to kill anyone, but there he is, year after year, and it's so hard on her.  Her husband passed away a couple of years ago.  

I don't know exactly what should be done or even what's already been done. It's another Florida criminal justice outrage.

Looking into getting a Pro Bono lawyer might be a good place to start.

Whatever you or she decide to do, it's going to take a lot phone calls.

Maybe these will help:

https://www.justia.com/lawyers/family-law/florida/pensacola/legal-aid-and-pro-bono-services

https://www.floridaprobono.org/oppsguide/organization.280290-Legal_Services_of_North_Florida_Inc_Pensacola

https://secure.everyaction.com/WACS_0sMGUWMFjcq-SE53g2

FLORIDA CAMPAIGN FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

2019 Criminal Justice Reform Lobby Day

UPDATE: We are still accepting RSVP's, but since we are at capacity, we are no longer able to guarantee financial assistance for the cost of transportation and lodging and you will be added to a waiting list. If you are able to cover the cost of transportation and lodging along with other expenses, you are more than welcome to fill out this form and join us. Thank you.



On March 13th, hundreds of people from across Florida will be gathering at our state's capitol in Tallahassee to advocate for positive criminal justice reform in our communities.



We need YOU to join us!



A coalition of nonpartisan organizations fighting for criminal justice reform, the Florida Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform, invites you to our 2019 Criminal Justice Reform Lobby Day. Let's show our elected officials and policymakers that people from all walks of life want common-sense criminal justice reform right now!



What We're Advocating For:

Reform that safely reduces the number of people incarcerated in Florida's prisons and jails;
Eliminating racial disparities in our justice system;
Reform bills that will bring Florida in line with other states that have common-sense criminal justice reform


What We're Planning:

Press conference on the steps of the Capitol
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You have a story to share. Join us to tell our lawmakers why we need criminal justice reform in Florida NOW!



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