Felony murder rule (Kentucky)
Encyclopedia
In the state of Kentucky
, the common law
felony murder rule has been completely abolished.
with the enactment of Kentucky Revised Statutes § 507.020. Recognizing that an automatic application of the rule could result in conviction of murder
without a culpable mindset
, the Kentucky Legislature instead allowed the circumstances of a case, like the commission of a felony
, to be considered separately. The facts each case would be used to show the mental state of the defendant instead of using an automatic rule.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
felony murder rule has been completely abolished.
KRS § 507.020
The Kentucky Legislature abolished the felony murder ruleFelony murder rule
The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the course of an applicable felony, what might have been manslaughter is escalated to murder...
with the enactment of Kentucky Revised Statutes § 507.020. Recognizing that an automatic application of the rule could result in conviction of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
without a culpable mindset
Mens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
, the Kentucky Legislature instead allowed the circumstances of a case, like the commission of a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
, to be considered separately. The facts each case would be used to show the mental state of the defendant instead of using an automatic rule.