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 Wisconsin, the felony murder rule is codified in the state statutes under Wis. Stat. § 940.03. This rule allows for a person to be charged with first-degree reckless homicide if they commit or attempt to commit a felony, and another person dies as a result of the commission or attempted commission of that felony. The list of predicate felonies includes, but is not limited to, robbery, burglary, sexual assault, arson, and kidnapping. Under this rule, all participants in the felony can be held equally responsible for the death, regardless of their level of direct involvement in the lethal act. This means that accomplices such as lookouts or getaway drivers can face the same homicide charges as the person who directly causes the death. 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.