State v. Jones

State of Maryland v. Tyshon Leteek Jones, No. 52, September Term, 2015, Opinion by Raker, J. CRIMINAL LAW – FELONY MURDER – MERGER DOCTRINE: Roary v. State, 385 Md. 217,

867 A.2d 1095

(2005), holding that first-degree assault may serve as a predicate for felony murder is overruled. The merger doctrine bars the application of the felony-murder doctrine whenever the underlying felony is an integral element of the homicide. First-degree assault cannot, as a matter of law, serve as the underlying felony to support felony murder because the assault merges into the resultant homicide, and may not be…