Democrats to End Felony Murder Charges for Criminals Under 25
In a move to offer protection to young murderers, Democrats in Maryland are pushing a new law that bans bringing felony murder charges against anyone younger than 25 years of age involved in the commission of a serious crime that ends up in murder.
Under the proposed law, if a person younger than 25 goes to commit a crime other than murder – such as rape, arson, robbery, burglary, etc. – and ends up killing someone, he/she won’t be charged with first-degree murder.
As The Washington Times explained with an example, the current law allows a criminal to be charged with felony murder to run over and kill a security guard as they drive away from a robbery scene.
But House Bill 1180, also called the Youth Accountability and Safety Act, introduced into the Maryland State House by Montgomery County Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield, seeks to end such prosecution.
The bill is backed by eight fellow Democrats, and it argues that people younger than 25 have brains “not fully developed” and hence trying them for felony murder that, if convicted, can send them to prison for life is not fair.
However, there is also a racial side to the proposed law against felony murder charges for felons under 25, one that fits the political activism of Democrats since most of the felons arrested for murder are black. Fox News cited the bill and wrote:
According to the bill, 79% of murder arrests were Black or African-American in 2020 despite comprising only 31% of the population.
Maryland’s Youth Accountability and Safety Act expressly puts a “Racial Equity Impact Statement” to back its rationale of protecting young felons from felony murder charges. The draft of the bill concludes:
Accordingly, this would have a meaningful impact on individuals in this age bracket, particularly Black or African American individuals who generally face arrest for murder at a disproportionately high rate.
Conservatives and law enforcement are opposed to Maryland’s Youth Accountability and Safety Act. Citizens Free Press wrote on Twitter that the law is being pushed by the same people who want to lower the legal voting age for Americans.
Democrats have long remained accused of being soft on crime and thus directly making people’s lives and property unsafe by letting more dangerous criminals loose on the streets.
Radio host and conservative commentator Tony Katz and Former US Marine Jessie Jane Duff both agreed on Newsmax that the proposed law in Maryland to shield criminals under 25 from felony murder charges is a step toward enabling criminals against citizens.
Based on their logic, I would suggest NO person 25 years old and younger can no longer hold any public office or work for anyone in any position of responsibility. That is to include the medical field.
Is anyone even claiming that blacks are so over-represented among murderers because they’re being unjustly accused (or non-blacks are not being justly charged), or is it because they are actually committing the crimes? If they are, NO oppression past, present, real or imagined, justifies murder. Convict and execute them along with all the non-black murderers. I suggest public hanging in batches, with at least one non-black in every batch (delayed to make that work out if needed) to repeatedly make the point of what it’s NOT about. And exempting those under 25, really? That just creates job openings for under-25 hit men.
This is so stupid. Every adult should be equally held accountable for every crime they commit regardless of how old they are.
The opinions offered were somewhat legit-until the author went off the rails and indicated that the primary reason for the proposed legislation is because it would benefit African Americans. Deplorable! And the party that is “soft” on crime is definitely not the democrats-most crime is committed with guns and Republicans refuse to do anything about the proliferation of guns in the US. Typical conservative bullshit…
Mike, I was with you until you used the word “author.”
Cut n paste assembler would be more like it.
People under the age of 25 that “have brains “not fully developed” do not deserve to vote either.
The exception being, those serving in the military.
MOST 18-year-old HS graduates have never ran a household, been responsible for a credit card, had a full time job, purchased a car or house on their own, had and been responsible for CHILDREN.
MANY 25-year-olds have just graduated from college, or trades people have freshly moved out of their parents homes and still have not not navigated the above life skills.
I say, raise the voting age.
Per the article, brains are not developed enough to understand that committing murder can end up getting the death penalty. Yet, the democrats are even advocating lowering the voting age. Plus, the drinking and legal drug usage is 21 the driving age is 16 in most states, and they can join the military at 18. A common ground needs to be established as to when a person’s brain is developed enough understand and be responsible for their actions.
The Dumpster has found some real news….I liked this piece but just wish the Dumpster could think, investigate, and then go after the issues. This cut n paste crap just lowers his professionalism as an investigative reporter, which, at this point, he is not. Not even close. To begin with, he tries to smear all Democrats with what 8 folks in Maryland have proposed. I am pretty sure the Dumpster has no clue what Democrats think.
In a rare case of agreement – sure, 18 is the legal age, let it be or have a good reason to change. One study, one group, does not make 25 the magic number. Let it be, I agree, 18 for me. Matter of fact, pass the law for all ages above the age of voting, 18. Put that in your cut n paste portfolio and smoke it.
Beyond the age thing, this law does nothing except make the prosecutor prove a crime for every individual potentially involved.
Generally, to prove felony murder, you have to simply have a murder in the commission of a felony – no premeditation, no intent, etc. Good, IMO. I would love to see felony attempted murder to even have a gun. And yeah, I’m a Democrat saying lock em up. But to extend those crimes to all participants, in all cases, with equal force of law, and unequal prosecutorial powers, seems a bit cruel and unjust in a number of cases. Shouldn’t prosecutors have to charge and prove cases against individuals versus leveling a wholesale charge on the group based on one person’s actions? And all they need to do is prove their crime and everyone else gets convicted for free? Hey, there may be a reason to do that, but it should be case dependent, not an automatic death sentence. Does not see fair or just.
Now, on the act of getting away with murder. “Under the proposed law, if a person younger than 25 goes to commit a crime other than murder – such as rape, arson, robbery, burglary, etc. – and ends up killing someone, he/she won’t be charged with first-degree murder.” The Dumpster spins this so that the reader may come away with thinking young folks can commit murder and not be charged. It’s weasel words in defense of Dumpster’s spin. He’s too lazy to actually look up the law and the proposal for change.
He leaves out that very important word: AUTOMATICALLY. Today, in Maryland, if anyone over 18 participates in a felony crime, and someone else in that crime commits murder, whether accidental or premeditated, all participants are AUTOMATICALLY charged with first degree murder.
This is known as the Felony Murder Law, now illegal in four states and you would never guess which ones: Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Hawaii – not exactly all Democratic strongholds even though the Dumpster would have you believe it’s just those unlawful, disorderly, Democrats. Today, with the Felony Murder Law, over 20 states allow for an automatic capital offense, the death penalty. No mitigating circumstances allowed. The law originally came to us from England in the 1800’s. England abolished it in 1957. Canada says it’s unconstitutional.
The law is a no-brainer for Prosecutors being one of the easiest cases they will ever have. Gotta a group, one guy murders, and you get the whole group for one trial’s work. It’s AUTOMATIC.
But here’s the fact: the revised law ONLY takes the AUTOMATIC out of it forcing the prosecutor to prove guilt by action, not association. Prosecutors are still free to charge. It’s just that with the new law, they will actually have to prove it for THAT individual. If you found yourself in the wrong place as someone does the heinous act that you didn’t even know they had the weapon for, how would you deal with AUTOMATIC, especially if a capital offense as in death penalty?
I won’t bore you with examples and anecdotes, but imagine five guys rob a convenience store. One guy has a gun, no one else knows that, he tells no one. Turns out he hates the clerk, has told others (but not the four stupo’s) he wants to kill them, so he picks this store to rob with his buddies, then shoots the hated clerk in an archetypal act of first-degree premeditated murder.
Should all five get the death penalty after the shooter is convicted? Is that fair or cruel and unjust? Sure, it’s an extreme example, but I hope you get the drift. The new law just means Prosecutors will need to prove each person’s guilt as meeting the same standards of the actual shooters. Not just happened to be there to commit a simple robbery, no weapons, no knowledge of a convenience store clerk’s prior relationship with the shooter.
IMO, the law is a good idea; it’s just the age thing that should be erased, for everyone except minors.
“….the current law allows a criminal to be charged with felony murder to run over and kill a security guard as they drive away from a robbery scene.
But House Bill 1180, also called the Youth Accountability and Safety Act, introduced into the Maryland State House by Montgomery County Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield, seeks to end such prosecution.” Except this is not true, Dempsey left part in the dumpster. The words “automatically charged with felony murder” have been left out. And the notion that IF the law is passed, people MAY still be charged with any crime that can be proved in a court of law is never mentioned. The Dumpster is incomplete having left things out to fit his fancy spin.
But on the age 25 thing, spot on, IMO. Change the law for all adults. Quit automatically killing or giving life sentences to people associated with the crime just because they were there. Make the prosecutor actually prove their case as in innocent until proven guilty.
In order to make this equitable, regardless of how many Blacks commit murder, only 31% (Blacks are 31% of the population.) they should have to give the conviction to a White person. That would only be fair.
Coming from Maryland a liberal Democrat state! Show how STUPID the people are that represents the State. I got a better idea. Why not if the brain is not fully functional then ban blacks from playing football! Some dumb black politicians just trying to keep another Black from death sentence after they are found guilty of killing another Black gang member. I’m not sure there is any intelligent in these blacks liberal democrats politicians.
And yet, the mind of a 5 year old is developed enough to know they are female instead of male. Listen to the well developed mind of the 5 year old, and allow him to be castrated, or they will say you are not willing to support their decisions.
In these dark days of Affirmitive Action Judges and Lawyers(who only have the job because they check the right boxes. Not because of their actual knowledge of said job,)the country definately seems to be sliding into oblivion (sh*tcountry )territory.
If their brains are not fully developed then why are we letting them vote?
this is really cool kill all you want up to the day before you turn 25
this can start with the very people writing the laws
or is this so the under 25 will vote for the idiot law makers