• Is felony murder the equivalent of hanging every 50th thief at random as suggested in the text? Why or why not?
• Despite obvious concerns across most jurisdictions, why is felony murder continued?

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1. Felony murder as a concept is not the equivalent of hanging every 50th thief at random. Felony murder is a reference to a legal doctrine that holds individuals accountable for murder during the commission of a felony. This also applies to unintentional or accidental deaths however it does hold those accountable for any deaths that are connected with the felony.

Also, the suggestion of hanging every 50th thief comes off as a hyperbolic or rhetorical statement instead of an accurate representation of felony murder doctrine. This is because legal systems are meant to proportionate punishments and random punishment seems to go against those ideas. Felony murder laws tend to stay in place even though they are argued aginst. The main argument is typically they are used for deterrence due to their severe nature when punishing someone's actions.

2. I would say that no, felony murder is not equivalent to hanging every 50th thief at random. I would say this because this situation suggests that they are just thieves, stealing things from a store, and the thieves are stealing generally the same amount of things, meaning no one thief is necessarily worse than the other. When looking at a murder, if someone is committing a felony and they happen to murder someone, even if it is accidental, it is still felony murder. This indicates that it is different than if you were just specifically going to kill that person and not commit any other crimes. I would say that felony murder wouldn't just be randomly charged to every 50th murderer because that wouldn't make any sense, so therefore, it is not the equivalent to hanging every 50th thief at random.

3. A dangerous felony is an offense carrying a high probability death will be a result. Not every felony should trigger a felony murder. A felony murder is not the equivalent of hanging every 50^th thief at random. The punishment should match the crime and the person's culpable mental state.

The felony murder rule could be a deterrence and may make people think twice before committing a felony and/or being a part of the crime with others. N.Y. Penal Law 125.25(3) allows the affirmative defense when a co-felon causes a death, and the defendant was not armed and did not know the murder was going to happen. Ultimately, I think for a person to be charged with felony murder it should come down to their culpable mental state and the facts of each case. Felony murder is continued because it should be a deterrence and it is to hold individuals accountable for their actions, regardless of their intent. It gives the idea if you want to engage in this behavior, these are the consequences, regardless if you intended for this or if you were just an accomplice.