Don Klipstein wrote:

It appears to me that this murder charge is "felony murder", which I
see as meaning, in my words, a manslaughter committed while
committing a felony or in associated with committing a felony.

No, "felony murder" is a homicide committed during the commission of a
felony.


I do see this charge being abused.

Agreed. If people would quit committing felonies, there wouldn't be any
"felony murders."

If someone accidentally kills
someone other than an intended victim while using or brandishing a
deadly weapon, then I would agree with felony murder. (I would agree
with a higher degree of murder for wrongfully pointing a gun at
someone and experiencing "accidental discharge", such as during a
robbery or attempted robbery.)


I would agree with felony murder for
a robber's getaway car driver killing someone via reckless driving.

But if a robber gets a criminal partner killed by an intended victim,
then I only see the robber being guilty of robbery and conspiracy.

And if a police officer slips on a banana peel and suffers a fatal
head injury while chasing a robber, then I don't see the robber being
guilty of felony murder ... It appears to me that a "felony
murder" is only committed if the felon performs a manslaughter.

That word again. "Manslaughter" is a particular form of homicide. Homicide
is the killing of one human through the act or ommission of another.
Generally there are five types of homicide: Murder, manslaughter, negligent,
justifiable, and excusable. Some jurisdictions have subdivsions of these
five ("Capital Murder," 2nd Degree Manslaughter, etc.).

If a
robber's partner gets killed in a botched robbery, I don't see any
unlawful homicide so much as the unfortunate criminal partner
suffering a risked effect of doing illegal risky business, so the
surviving robber is only guilty of robbery and conspiracy and maybe
weapons offenses if the surviving robber used or brandished a weapon,
and whatever moving violations are committed while driving a getaway
vehicle (often good for a major license suspension, which I believe
should be served starting after getting out of prison).

So what should the penalty or charge be for the driver of the getaway car
when all his mates were killed by the cops?

"Felony Murder" is a type of corporate guilt, and the definition has been a
part of the common law for over 500 years. In my state (and probably others)
the concept is extended to riots and disturbances by crowds. That is,
everyone who participates in a riot is equally guilty of any act undertaken
by any participant. Years ago, a riot took place at a black university and a
police officer was killed. 1,100 people were arrested and charged with
capital murder (death penalty).

You may be correct in that the charge is not exactly "fair," but it tends to
discourage the planners of multi-person nastiness from enlisting whackos.