Court Opinion

ID: 9767939
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 05:35:59.125306+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:34.220670
License: Public Domain

SEILER, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent from the portion of the principal opinion which allows the commission of any felony to be the basis for a second degree murder conviction. This holding is, in my opinion, unsound, inconsistent with the doctrine of felony murder in the first degree, and serves to extend that doctrine “beyond any rational function that it is designed to serve.” People v. Washington, 62 Cal.2d 777, 44 Cal.Rptr. 442, 402 P.2d 130 (1965).
Our legislature has enumerated those felonies which they perceived to be so inherently dangerous to human life that when a homicide occurs during the commission thereof, liability for murder in the first degree is supplied by the fact of the felony alone, Sec. 559.010 RSMo 1969, V. A.M.S. Our statute was modeled after Pennsylvania’s, State v. Meyers, 99 Mo. 107, 12 S.W. 516 (1889), and the supreme court of that state has explained it as follows: “. . . [I]n cases of homicide in the perpetration of certain offences, viz., arson, rape, robbery, burglary, all idea of intention was excluded. The act in which the malefactor was engaged was of such a nature, so deep a crime, involving such turpitude of mind, and protection against which was so necessary to the peace and welfare of all good citizens, that our Legislature considered the intention as of no *835consequence, and accordingly decreed death to be the penalty of such offences . . .”, Commonwealth v. Flanagan, 7 Watts & S. 415, 418 (Pa.1844). Accordingly, it is irrelevant whether the death is intended, or whether the enumerated felony is committed in a dangerous manner, or on the contrary is committed in a manner calculated to avoid such a risk of death, as where an arsonist takes precautions to insure that no one is in the building he intends to burn, but a person concealed therein is nevertheless killed. These felonies are viewed in the abstract, and utilize only the original felony to create liability for murder in the first degree. See MAI-CR 6.16-6.19: if the jury finds that the defendant was committing one of the enumerated felonies and death resulted thereby, they are instructed to find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. It is also significant to note that prior to 1879, our first degree murder statute provided that a homicide shall be murder in the first degree when committed in the perpetration of any arson, rape, robbery, burglary or other felony. Missouri General Statutes, c. 200, Sec. 1 (1866). By 1879, however, this section had been amended, substituting the words “or mayhem” for “or other felony”. Missouri Revised Statutes, Sec. 1232 (1879).
Our second degree murder statute, Sec. 559.020 RSMo 1969, V.A.M.S., includes “All other kinds of murder at common law, not herein declared to be manslaughter or justifiable or excusable homicide . . . ” The doctrine of felony murder in the second degree has not been used extensively in Missouri; generally, however, it is associated with violent crimes. See, for example, State v. Hayes, 262 S.W. 1034 (Mo.1924) (conspiracy to “beat up” victim resulting in victim’s death); State v. Lindsey, 333 Mo. 139, 62 S.W.2d 420 (1933) (defendants beat a fellow prisoner to death while escaping from jail) ; State v. Holloway, 355 Mo. 217, 195 S.W.2d 662 (1946) (sheriff killed during a jailbreak); State v. Jasper, 486 S.W.2d 268 (Mo.banc 1972) (victim killed while defendant was resisting arrest).
In none of these cases was the nature of the underlying felony ever at issue. We do, however, find two cases involving felonies which cannot be said to be dangerous to human life. In State v. Robinett, 279 S.W. 696 (Mo.1926), the victim was killed by defendant’s son during their effort to transport mash (from the illegal manufacture of liquor—a felony) to a place of concealment. In State v. Wright, 337 Mo. 441, 85 S.W.2d 7 (1935), there was evidence that a “robbery” during which the victim was killed was staged in order to defraud an insurance company — a felony. In both these cases, the court held that a second degree murder conviction might rest on the underlying felonies without discussion as to the nature of those felonies. But see State v. Sharpe, 326 Mo. 1063, 34 S.W.2d 75 (1930), where there was conflicting evidence as to whether there was a robbery or a larceny, the court held that if the crime was only larceny, a jury could find that the homicide was only manslaughter.
State v. Robinett, supra, and State v. Wright, supra, appear to be aberrational and incorrectly decided. Neither of the underlying felonies in those cases were felonies at common law, and so could not have supported a conviction of “murder at common law” such as to fall within our second degree murder statute. See People v. Pavlic, 227 Mich. 562, 199 N.W. 373 (1924), where the defendant sold liquor under circumstances amounting to a felony in those days; the purchaser became drunk and died of exposure. The court stated that the homicide could not be murder since the underlying crime was not a common law felony and was not itself directly and naturally dangerous to life. See also Commonwealth v. Exler, 243 Pa. 155, 89 A. 968 (1914), where the victim died from shock resulting from the commission of statutory rape; the court held that the unintended death was not murder since statutory rape was not a common law felony. This case should be particularly noted since our murder statutes were modeled after those of Pennsylvania, State v. Mey*836ers, supra. The soundness of these decisions is aptly illustrated by a Kentucky court, which stated, “. . . Under our statute, the removal of a corner stone is punishable by a short term in the penitentiary, and is therefore a felony. If, in attempting this offense, death were to result to one conspirator by his fellows accidentally dropping the stone upon him, no Christian court would hesitate to apply this limitation . . . ”, i. e., the death would not be murder. Powers v. Commonwealth, 110 Ky. 386, 61 S.W. 735 (1901).
But more important than the question of whether or not a particular felony could support a conviction of murder at common law, a rule which includes only inherently dangerous felonies in the doctrine of felony murder is supported by history, common sense, and logic. At common law, a homicide was either murder or manslaughter, and there were no degrees of murder. Wharton on Homicide, 147 (3d ed. 1907). Furthermore, all felonies were punishable by death, 4 Blackstone Comm. 95-98 (Lewis’ ed. 1900). The relation of these two facts to the genesis of the felony murder doctrine is described by Perkins as follows :
“Since the would-be felon was willing to risk his life, it was relatively unimportant that he became guilty of a capital crime in a different manner than he intended. The primary purpose of the rule, it may be mentioned, was to deal with the case in which the homicide was caused in an attempted felony which failed. Conviction of felony resulted in total forfeiture, the loss of life and lands and goods, so nothing would have been added by establishing guilt of a second felony. At attempt to commit a felony, however, was a mere misdemeanor at common law. Hence to hold guilty of a capital crime one who made an unsuccessful attempt to commit burglary during which he had caused the loss of human life, however unintentionally and unexpectedly, put the wrongdoer in no worse position, in legal theory, than if he had succeeded in committing burglary without homicide. At the present time, with the removal of most felonies from the category of capital crimes, the reason for the rule has ceased to exist.” Perkins, The Criminal Law 44 (2d ed. 1969).
Thus, with the general trend toward mitigation in the harshness of punishment for many felonies, and the addition of many statutory felonies which were unknown to and not of the same dangerous character as those at common law, the application of an unlimited felony murder rule became increasingly irrational and unfair. The English courts began to impose limitations on the doctrine, and in the leading case of Regina v. Serne, [1887] 16 Cox Cr.Cas. 311, it was said, “ . . . instead of saying that any act done with intent to commit a felony and which causes death amounts to murder, it would be reasonable to say that any act known to be dangerous to life, and likely in itself to cause death done for the purpose of committing a felony which caused death, should be murder.” See also Director of Public Prosecutions v. Beard, [1920] A.C. 479. Eventually, Parliament abolished the felony murder doctrine altogether, Homicide Act of 1957, Sec. 1.
We are of course bound by the doctrine of felony murder as expressed in Sec. 559.-010, murder first degree, notwithstanding the absence of its original purpose. It has been well stated that the only remaining justification for the continued existence of the doctrine is to furnish an added deterrent to the perpetration of those felonies which by their very nature create a likelihood of danger to life,1 by making the fel*837on liable for murder even when death is unintended and accidental. People v. Satchell, 6 Cal.3d 28, 98 Cal.Rptr. 33, 489 P. 2d 1361 (1971); Jenkins v. State, 230 A.2d 262 (Del.1967).
The rationale of deterrence, however, cannot justify the inclusion of any felony to support a murder conviction. If the felony is not inherently dangerous, the added sanction of murder liability will not deter the potential felon, for it is highly unlikely that he will anticipate that death will occur solely from the fact that he will commit a felony. See Jenkins v. State, supra at 269. Justice Holmes, in discussing the application of the felony murder doctrine to a situation where one who shoots chickens for the purpose of stealing them accidentally kills a man in the chickenhouse, stated, “. . . If the object of the rule is to prevent such accidents, it should make accidental killing with firearms murder, not accidental killing in the effort to steal; while if its object is to prevent stealing, it would do better to hang one thief in every thousand by lot ... ”, Holmes, The Common Law 58 (1881).
Since the felonies enumerated in our first degree murder statute are inherently dangerous, it would be inconsistent therewith to allow any felony to support a conviction for murder in the second degree. Such a holding would “widen the gap between moral culpability and criminal liability” and extend the doctrine of felony murder far beyond any rational function it is designed to serve. People v. Washington, supra. Many writers have severely criticized the rule and strongly advocated against its expansion. See for example, Perkins, A Re-Examination of Malice Aforethought, 43 Yale L.J. 537, 563 (1934); Michael & Wechsler, A Rationale of the Law of Homicide, 37 Col.L.Rev. 701, 713-715 (1937); Note, 35 Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America 296 (1974); American Law Institute, Model Penal Code, Sec. 201.2 (Comment, Tent. Draft No. 9, 1961).
It is significant to note that nearly all jurisdictions place some limitation on the felonies which can support a murder conviction; such felonies must be either inherently dangerous or committed in a manner dangerous to life. See 40 Am.Jur.2d, Homicide Sec. 73; Annot., Felony-Murder —“Dangerous” Felonies, 50 A.L.R.3d 397; Note, 35 Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, supra. The “inherently dangerous” test is to be preferred to the “manner of commission” test in that it is consistent with the principles governing felony murder in the first degree, i. e., the manner of commission is irrelevant and the felony is viewed in the abstract. Furthermore, the manner of commission test becomes devoid of meaning by virtue of hindsight; if a death occurs, one can immediately consider that the felony was committed in a dangerous manner — otherwise the death would not have occurred. And as the California supreme court so aptly stated, “. . . To frag-mentize the ‘course of conduct’ of defendant so that the felony-murder rule applies if any segment of that conduct may be considered dangerous to life would widen the rule beyond calculation. It would then apply not only to the commission of specific felonies, which are themselves dangerous to life, but to the perpetration of any felony during which defendant may have acted in such a manner as to endanger life. . . . [T]he number or nature of the con-texual elements which could be incorporated into an expanded felony terminology would be limitless. We have been, and remain, unwilling to embark upon such an uncharted sea of felony murder.” People v. Satchell, supra, 98 Cal.Rptr. at 39-40, 489 P.2d at 1367-1368. See also State v. Moffitt, 199 Kan. 514, 431 P.2d 879 (1967), where the supreme court of Kansas adopted the “inherently dangerous” test.
In the case at bar, the underlying felony is stealing, Sec. 560.156, RSMo 1969, V.A. M.S., which is not a felony enumerated for murder in the first degree, and, unlike robbery which involves direct confrontation *838with the person whose property is being taken, stealing is not a felony dangerous to life when viewed in the abstract. Automobile theft is one of the most common crimes today, and ought not to be the basis for a conviction of murder in the second degree, especially when there are more relevant criteria to be found in our manslaughter statutes which properly apply to the state of mind demonstrated by the defendant under the facts of this case. It is both unnecessary and unjustifiable to give the legal fiction of felony murder any more broad a sweep than it presently possesses; the law is perfectly capable of punishing defendants for reckless and wanton conduct under conventional homicide statutes. For these reasons, I would reverse the murder conviction, leaving the prosecutor to file a new information if so advised. If such be the outcome of this case, I would affirm the conviction for stealing, as this disposition of the matter would eliminate the double jeopardy problems discussed later herein and would leave only the stealing conviction, as to which, when considered alone, I see no error.
On the other hand, if this view is not to prevail and if the second degree murder conviction is allowed to stand, then I must also dissent from the portion of the principal opinion affirming the stealing conviction and holding that the defendant is not being twice put in jeopardy for the same offense. While the principal opinion concludes that the underlying felony is not an “element” of the crime of second degree murder, but merely goes to prove the requisite mental state for that crime, such a conclusion is immaterial. Regardless of the rationale behind the felony murder doctrine, the fact remains that in order to reach a verdict of guilty for second degree murder, the state need prove only the fact of the felony and a homicide in the perpetration thereof. In this case the jury was instructed in no more complicated terms than these. With this in mind, the case at bar becomes indistinguishable from State v. Neal, 514 S.W.2d 544 (Mo. banc 1974) and State v. Richardson, 460 S.W.2d 537 (Mo. banc 1970). In those cases it was held that a defendant could not be convicted both of robbery and the assault which constituted the violence to the victim incidental and necessary to robbery. Similarly in State v. Parsons, 513 S.W.2d 430 (Mo.1974), it was held that a defendant could not be convicted both of murder and the bombing which caused the death of the victim. The court stated that “. . . the necessary act toward the commission of the bombing was the identical act necessary to constitute the crime of murder. The bombing was an incident included in the crime of murder as charged . . . ” and the state may not obtain a conviction “not only of the crime of murder by bombing but also a conviction for the incident of bombing.” Id. at 438. As stated in In re Nielsen, 131 U.S. 176, 188, 9 S.Ct. 672, 676, 33 L.Ed. 118 (1889), “. . . where . . . a person has been tried and convicted of a crime which has various incidents included in it, he cannot be a second time tried for one of those incidents without being twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.”
Just as a bombing may not be prosecuted as a crime in itself if it is the same bombing incident to a homicide, neither can the stealing in this case be separated and prosecuted as another offense where it is the same stealing incident to the second degree murder conviction. The lesser crime is “used up” in the greater and ought not to be “thrown in” as a separate charge now that rule 24.04 makes it more easily possible for prosecutors to try more than one offense in a single proceeding.

. In fact, however, there is proof that homicides resulting from these felonies are much less frequent than might be supposed. According to the District of Columbia Crime Commission, for example, less than one half of one percent of the robberies and about one percent of forcible rapes are accompanied by homicide. The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, Report by the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice 19 (1967). See also ALI, Model Penal Code, Sec. 201.2 (Comment, Tent. Draft No. 9, 1961), with earlier statistics to the same effect.