The felony murder rule applies to any death which occurs in the course or commission of a dangerous felony and will result in a charge of murder in the first degree
Under the felony-murder rule, there need be no evidence of the defendant’s intent to murder or harm another. The only evidence the prosecutor must prove is that the defendant intended to commit a crime that the law defines as dangerous. This rule often involves the carry and use of a weapon to commit the crime such as a concealed handgun.
Example:
A person steals a car and is being chased by police. During the police chase, an elderly woman crosses the street and gets run down, and dies hours later.
The defendant did not intend to hurt anyone when he committed the theft of the vehicle. Still, because grand theft larceny is considered a dangerous felony, the felony murder rule assumes the defendant knew and acted with such a high degree of reckless disregard that he knew or should have known they were creating a risk of harming or killing a person during the commission of the crime.
Since stealing a car is considered a dangerous felony, and death arose from the theft during the police chase, technically, the defendant can be charged with felony murder which is murder in the first degree.
