State v. Williams

The opinion by Holman, J., and the opinion concurring in result by Bardgett, J. (soundly, I believe) do not attempt to place the decision on the ground that conventional murder is a lesser included offense of felony murder first. In my opinion it is not, and the thesis advanced in State v. Bobbitt, 215 Mo. 10, 114 S.W. 511 (1908) that first degree felony murder involves deliberation and premeditation is no more than fiction. There are many instances where neither one is present in a felony murder case. The present case is one. Defendant was trying to avoid decedent’s death, not cause it. We…