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 North Dakota, the felony murder rule is codified in the North Dakota Century Code (NDCC). According to NDCC Section 12.1-16-01, an individual commits murder, a class AA felony, if they cause the death of another human being under certain circumstances, including while engaging in or attempting to engage in a felony, or fleeing thereafter. This means that if a death occurs during the commission of a dangerous felony such as robbery, burglary, rape, aggravated kidnapping, carjacking, or arson, all participants in the felony can be held liable for murder, regardless of their direct involvement in the death. This includes lookouts, getaway drivers, and other accomplices. The rule applies even if the death was unintentional or if it was a co-felon who was killed, for example, by law enforcement during the commission of the crime. The intent to kill is not a necessary element for felony murder charges under this doctrine, making it a strict liability offense in relation to the death that occurs during the commission of a qualifying felony.