Del. Charlotte Crutchfield proposes bill to ban felony murder charges for people under 25

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And why not? She’s got a point. You can still get charged w a murder just not a felony murder. Most jurisdictions don’t even have that as a specific crime.

I agree. Maybe people should read the bill before commenting.

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/hb/hb1180f.pdf
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/fnotes/bil_0000/hb1180.pdf

If you and your buddy go to commit burglary, and during that burglary, your buddy kills someone, should the state be able to charge you with first-degree murder? I don't think so.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/felony_murder_rule

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well this is asinine. I'm a democrat, but I'd favor *lowering* the felony murder charge to 12, to be tried as an adult. If you don't know and understand that murder is wrong by the time you're 12--or hell, even 7, then you cannot be helped. It has nothing to do with when brains fully mature -- even children understand that killing a human being is wrong.

On the other hand, you don't know what felony murder is.

[Anonymous]

Exactly, people are violent idiots when it comes to criminal justice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well this is asinine. I'm a democrat, but I'd favor *lowering* the felony murder charge to 12, to be tried as an adult. If you don't know and understand that murder is wrong by the time you're 12--or hell, even 7, then you cannot be helped. It has nothing to do with when brains fully mature -- even children understand that killing a human being is wrong.

On the other hand, you don't know what felony murder is.

Or what asinine means.

Felony murder should be abolished altogether as a crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well this is asinine. I'm a democrat, but I'd favor *lowering* the felony murder charge to 12, to be tried as an adult. If you don't know and understand that murder is wrong by the time you're 12--or hell, even 7, then you cannot be helped. It has nothing to do with when brains fully mature -- even children understand that killing a human being is wrong.

seriously. lower age - to 15 or 16.

[Anonymous]

"Felony Murder" gets so abused as a charge; a lot of jurisdictions have eliminated it. It's been used to charge people with murder when a COP shoots someone else (I'm robbing a bank, a cop shoots my co-robber, I get charged with felony murder), which seems to be nonsense. Felony murder means that people who never intended to kill anyone, who never held a weapon, and who may not even have been in the room when someone is killed, can be charged with murder. Why not just charge them with the actual crime they committed?

[Anonymous]

Exactly. It’s awful and medieval

[Anonymous]

What jurisdictions have eliminated it? It’s very common and rightfully so. Don’t commit felonies because they quite often result in unintended consequences like someone dying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Felony Murder" gets so abused as a charge; a lot of jurisdictions have eliminated it. It's been used to charge people with murder when a COP shoots someone else (I'm robbing a bank, a cop shoots my co-robber, I get charged with felony murder), which seems to be nonsense. Felony murder means that people who never intended to kill anyone, who never held a weapon, and who may not even have been in the room when someone is killed, can be charged with murder. Why not just charge them with the actual crime they committed?

If it's that awful why not propose eliminating it altogether then instead of restricting it to those 25 and older under the guise that those under 25 simply don't know better because their brains haven't fully developed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Felony Murder" gets so abused as a charge; a lot of jurisdictions have eliminated it. It's been used to charge people with murder when a COP shoots someone else (I'm robbing a bank, a cop shoots my co-robber, I get charged with felony murder), which seems to be nonsense. Felony murder means that people who never intended to kill anyone, who never held a weapon, and who may not even have been in the room when someone is killed, can be charged with murder. Why not just charge them with the actual crime they committed?

If it's that awful why not propose eliminating it altogether then instead of restricting it to those 25 and older under the guise that those under 25 simply don't know better because their brains haven't fully developed?

DP. I'm ok with that (but I'm not a delegate to the Maryland General Assembly). Are you ok with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What jurisdictions have eliminated it? It’s very common and rightfully so. Don’t commit felonies because they quite often result in unintended consequences like someone dying.

So you think it's ok to charge people with something they didn't do? I don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What jurisdictions have eliminated it? It’s very common and rightfully so. Don’t commit felonies because they quite often result in unintended consequences like someone dying.

So you think it's ok to charge people with something they didn't do? I don't.

So the victim's life means nothing to you?

[Anonymous]

Felony-murder was always a terrible and unjust rule.

People, they are not saying these criminals won't be charged with the crimes they actually committed; they are saying we won't give the death penalty to people who didn't themselves actually commit murder, but were present when someone else did commit murder.

If you don't get this, you need to read up on some of the people on death row or who were put to death for murders they didn't commit and that the court knew they didn't commit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well this is asinine. I'm a democrat, but I'd favor *lowering* the felony murder charge to 12, to be tried as an adult. If you don't know and understand that murder is wrong by the time you're 12--or hell, even 7, then you cannot be helped. It has nothing to do with when brains fully mature -- even children understand that killing a human being is wrong.

But felony murder includes charging people with murder when they had no intentions of murdering someone. Things like waiting outside with the getaway car while your partner is inside robbing the bank without a gun, but someone has a heart attack and does. Should the driver of the car be tried and punished? Yes, absolutely. As a murderer? I don’t think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that brains are not fully mature until mid-20s. However we still need to enforce accountability and deterrents to recidivism. So what's the plan?

If that’s truly the case that their brains aren’t developed enough to make simple decisions about committing felonies, we certainly shouldn’t allow them to vote, drive, or enter into contracts until they are 25/26. Also, no one in the armed forces until you hit 25. Those people have guns, you know.

PP you replied to. I know, that's what follows logically. But we still need to create a safe environment, so young murderers can't just be put back on the streets, can they?

Clearly you don't know what this conversation is about. This is about the people charged with murder because someone else killed someone, but who themselves didn't actually commit the murder.