The felony murder rule is a legal doctrine that expands the definition of murder and makes criminal accomplices (including a lookout or getaway driver) as responsible for a death that occurs in the course of a dangerous felony crime as the person who directly caused the death by pulling the trigger of a gun, stabbing the victim with a knife, strangling the victim, or otherwise causing the victim’s death. Examples of dangerous felony crimes that implicate the felony murder rule include robbery, burglary, rape, aggravated kidnapping, carjacking, and arson.

When the felony murder rule applies, it may make a criminal accomplice liable for murder even if the criminals had agreed that no one would be killed in the course of the crime, and even if it is a fellow criminal who is killed in the course of the crime—such as when a police officer or security guard shoots a bank robber—which may result in all other accomplices to the crime being charged with murder.

In many states the felony murder rule—and any distinctions between the culpability of accomplices and principals to a crime—are located in the state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Mississippi, the felony murder rule is codified in the state's criminal statutes. This rule allows for a person to be charged with murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, even if the person did not directly cause the death. Under Mississippi law, individuals involved in felonies such as robbery, burglary, rape, kidnapping, carjacking, or arson can be held as responsible for a resulting death as the individual who actually commits the lethal act. This includes accomplices such as lookouts or getaway drivers. The rule applies regardless of the intent to kill, and even if the death is accidental or involves a co-felon, such as a situation where a co-felon is killed by law enforcement during the commission of the crime. The felony murder rule thus expands the scope of criminal liability to ensure that all participants in certain dangerous felonies are held accountable for any deaths that occur during the commission of those crimes.