Murder and attempted murder are the most serious charges a criminal defendant can face. Florida is one of 35 states that has retained the death penalty for murder, in addition to the federal government and United States military courts. In recent years, several states have repealed the death penalty entirely. Since 2007, New Mexico, New York, and New Jersey have all made the toughest sentence a convicted murderer can face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
A far lesser-known offense is felony murder and its counterpart, attempted felony murder. Felony murder occurs when two or more people commit a dangerous felony together, such as an armed robbery or a burglary. During the course of that felony, a person is killed. Those involved in the commission of the felony may be charged with felony murder - even if they had no role in the killing. For example, if Alfred, Byron, and Christopher decide to hold up a local convenience store armed with semiautomatic weapons, they are committing armed robbery. Imagine that as Byron and Christopher are fleeing the store with stolen cash and Twinkies, Alfred turns around and shoots the clerk, Gustav, so that he cannot identify the robbers later. If Gustav dies, Alfred could be charged with murder, and Byron and Christopher could both face felony murder charges - despite the fact that they did not act to kill Gustav. If Gustav was seriously wounded but did not actually die, Alfred could be charged with attempted murder, while Byron and Christopher could be charged with attempted felony murder. Felony murder is often punished almost as severely as murder itself, although the death penalty is not available for a conviction of felony murder in Florida.
Fierce opponents of the felony murder rule argue that it unfairly and disproportionately punishes accomplices and co-conspirators who had no plan or interest in seeing another person die as a result of the crime. These opponents argue that it is important to distinguish from true killers from those who have no intent whatsoever to kill another person. Criminal defense attorneys representing clients who have been charged with felony murder frequently find that they are shocked that the state or a jury may deem them culpable for an act they did not commit.
