The litigation scenario under consideration in the case of the murder of a drug dealer is a hearing that allows prosecutors to charge Keith, a person who lent his car to Jermaine, with first-degree murder. The fact that Keith was absent from the crime scene does not relieve him of liability, and a special legislative concept is a basis for bringing him to justice. The practice known as the felony-murder legislation is the background for the prosecution.
Felony-Murder Rule
The direct accusation of first-degree murder by prosecutors is possible even if the accused was not present at the crime scene and did not commit direct violent acts against the victim. Gaines and Miller consider this practice and call it the felony-murder rule that is used in most states. In particular, the authors argue that a person may be charged with first-degree murder if he or she “participates in any of a list of serious felonies that results in the death of a human being.” In other words, even if a person is not a criminal who has fatally wounded a victim, his or her role in the crime may be regarded as one of the key ones. Gaines and Miller list felonies that are associated with the concept in question: robbery, burglary, rape, arson, and kidnapping. All these crimes are included in the category of those according to which a person can be charged under the felony-murder rule.
This rule is applied regardless of the degree to which a person is involved in a murder. Keith’s example proves that a person lent his car intentionally to a criminal who subsequently killed another person. Despite the fact that the victim was also involved in the criminal sphere, the fact of taking life is obvious, and the role of Keith, in this case, is reduced to complicity. Gaines and Miller discuss attendant circumstances that apply to the corpus delicti principle. However, since the scenario of the trial is based on the proven guilt of Jermaine as a direct killer, Keith’s complicity is evident. This means that the accused has no right to count on leniency. The situation is complicated by the obvious criminal intentions of all the defendants. Thus, the felony-murder rule can be applied to Keith to charge him with first-degree murder and impose an appropriate punishment.
Successful Prosecution
Successful prosecution by using the felony-murder rule may be achieved because this concept is part of the official criminal law legislation. According to Gaines and Miller, some human rights defenders find this practice unreasonably harsh since defendants are implicated in murders indirectly and should not bear the most severe sentences. However, as the authors note:
“The criminal codes of more than thirty states include some form of the felony-murder rule.”
Therefore, the success of Keith’s prosecution by using this legislative concept is the most likely outcome.
The felony-murder rule is a court practice that may be used against Keith in the case of the murder of a drug dealer. This concept is official in most states and involves prosecuting with first-degree murder even if a person was indirectly involved in a crime that resulted in the death of another person. In the context of the scenario under consideration, Keith’s successful prosecution is most likely since the entire evidence base confirms his indirect involvement in the crime.