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 Minnesota, the felony murder rule is codified in the Minnesota Statutes, specifically under section 609.185. According to this statute, a person is guilty of murder in the first degree, which is a felony, if they cause the death of a human being while committing or attempting to commit a specified felony, including but not limited to robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, or criminal sexual conduct. This means that if a death occurs during the commission of one of these dangerous felonies, all participants in the felony can be charged with first-degree murder, regardless of their individual role in the death. This includes individuals who may have served as a lookout or getaway driver. The rule applies even if the death was unintentional or accidental, and it can also apply if a co-felon is killed, for example, by law enforcement during the commission of the crime. The felony murder rule in Minnesota thus holds all accomplices to a qualifying felony responsible for any resulting death, reflecting the state's interest in deterring the commission of inherently dangerous felonies that may lead to loss of life.