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 North Carolina, the felony murder rule is codified in the state's statutes and is a significant component of its criminal law. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-17, a person can be charged with first-degree murder if a death occurs during the commission or attempted commission of certain felonies, such as arson, rape, robbery, burglary, or kidnapping, regardless of intent to kill. This means that if someone is killed during the commission of these felonies, all participants in the felony can be held equally responsible for the death, even if they did not directly cause it. This includes accomplices such as lookouts or getaway drivers. The rule applies even if the death was accidental or if the victim was a co-felon killed by law enforcement. The felony murder rule in North Carolina thus holds all participants in certain felonies strictly liable for any resulting deaths, reflecting the state's interest in deterring the commission of inherently dangerous felonies.