Barnett v. State

A. JOHNSON, Presiding Judge,

SPECIALLY CONCURRING.

T1 I agree with the decision to abandon the merger doctrine as a limitation to second degree felony murder. The purpose of the merger limitation-to bring fairness to the potential harshness of the felony murder rule-is a sound one. A fair and consistent application of this particular limitation, however, is difficult, In Quillen v. State, 2007 OK CR 22, 163 P.3d 587, this Court extended the application of the merger doctrine to the non-assaultive crime of felony child neglect in an apparent attempt to achieve a fair and appropriate balance…