Punished for Presence: Reforming Felony Murder - The Sentencing Project

Heidi • April 18, 2023

The Sentencing Project and Fair and Just Prosecution host a discussion about the growing movement to reform felony murder statutes

Felony murder laws hold people liable for murder if they participated in a crime that resulted in someone's death. These laws impose murder sentences on people who did not kill or intend to kill. The United States is the only Western, "first-world" country where the felony murder doctrine is still used. Thousands of Americans, mostly people of color, will remain behind bars their entire lives based on the extreme sentencing provisions associated with a felony murder conviction.


The Sentencing Project and Fair and Just Prosecution host a discussion about the growing movement to reform felony murder statutes.


Speakers:


Marshan Allen, Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at Represent Justice

Kate Chatfield, Legislative Director for California State Senator Nancy Skinner

Monica Fuhrmann, Director of Research and Outreach at Fair and Just Prosecution

Justin Kollar, Chief of Staff at Fair and Just Prosecution

Ekow Yankah, Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School

Moderator: Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph.D., Co-Director of Research at The Sentencing Project


You can watch the presentation on Youtube titled "Punished for Presence: Reforming Felony Murder."

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