Felony Murder in Tennessee
Contrary to a popular misconception among Tennesseans, Tennessee joins most other states in recognizing the concept of "felony murder," which means that a murder committed during the commission or attempted commission of certain types of felony offenses is treated as first degree murder. Tennessee's felony murder statute, T.C.A. 39-13-202(a)(2), reads as follows, defining as first degree murder:
(2) A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first degree murder, act of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child or aircraft piracy...
It is clear then, that the felony murder rule essentially applies to classify as first degree murder any murder committed during the perpetration or attempted perpetration of various types of violent felonies. While the penalties for first degree murder were discussed at length in yesterday's blog article, several noteworthy characteristics exist regarding felony murder.
First, it makes no difference under Tennessee law if the person who is killed by a defendant's actions was actually the intended target of the violent felony on which the felony murder conviction is based. Tennessee courts have held that the mere intent to commit any of the listed felonies against anyone opens the defendant up to liability as to anyone who is killed as a result of the defendant's actions.
Second, it is noteworthy that the intent to kill is not required by the felony murder statute. As the statute says, it is merely necessary that the defendant intend to commit or attempt to commit one of the listed offenses. This also means that the listed offenses do not have to be committed in order for a defendant to be charged under the statute. For example, if a defendant intends to commit a bank robbery in Knoxville but fails and then kills a pedestrian in Johnson City while running from the authorities, that individual may be guilty of felony murder.
Third, the statute requires that the murder be committed "in the perpetration of" one of the listed offenses, meaning that a defendant cannot be charged for felony murder if he or she has ceased commission of the listed actions. For example, in the bank robber example above, if a judge found that the defendant had ceased his attempt to rob the bank at the point where he ran over the pedestrian, that defendant would not be liable for felony murder.
Charges as serious as first-degree murder often raise complicated issues that can be perplexing to defendants but carry serious consequences. Contact an experienced Tennessee criminal defense attorney to discuss the complex issues in your case.
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