The felony murder rule is a legal doctrine that expands the definition of murder and makes criminal accomplices (including a lookout or getaway driver) as responsible for a death that occurs in the course of a dangerous felony crime as the person who directly caused the death by pulling the trigger of a gun, stabbing the victim with a knife, strangling the victim, or otherwise causing the victim’s death. Examples of dangerous felony crimes that implicate the felony murder rule include robbery, burglary, rape, aggravated kidnapping, carjacking, and arson.

When the felony murder rule applies, it may make a criminal accomplice liable for murder even if the criminals had agreed that no one would be killed in the course of the crime, and even if it is a fellow criminal who is killed in the course of the crime—such as when a police officer or security guard shoots a bank robber—which may result in all other accomplices to the crime being charged with murder.

In many states the felony murder rule—and any distinctions between the culpability of accomplices and principals to a crime—are located in the state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Arkansas, the felony murder rule is codified in the state's criminal statutes. Under Arkansas law, an individual can be charged with felony murder if someone dies during the commission of a felony, even if the death was unintentional. This means that all participants in the felony, such as a lookout or getaway driver, can be held as responsible for the death as the person who directly caused it. The underlying felonies that can trigger the felony murder rule typically include violent crimes like robbery, burglary, rape, kidnapping, and arson. The rule applies regardless of whether the death was accidental or caused by a third party, such as a police officer during an attempted arrest. Therefore, all accomplices in the felony can face murder charges, highlighting the severe consequences of participating in a felony where a death occurs.