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.
