Malaske v. State

¶ 1 I disagree with the majority’s insistence on expanding the felony-murder doctrine past all recognizable bounds. In Wade v. State this Court noted that the purpose of the felony murder doctrine is “to relieve the prosecution of the necessity of proving [a defendant’s] actual malice or premeditated intent”; the intent element of the underlying felony is transferred to the homicide “so that the accused can be found guilty of murder even though the killing is unintentional.”1 This definition suggests a policy which applies felony murder to punish a defendant more severely where a death occurs…