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 West Virginia, the felony murder rule is codified in state law and holds that an individual can be charged with murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, even if the individual did not directly cause the death. This means that accomplices to the felony, such as a lookout or getaway driver, can be held as responsible for a resulting death as the person who actually commits the lethal act. The underlying felonies typically associated with the felony murder rule include serious crimes such as robbery, burglary, rape, kidnapping, arson, and others. The rule applies regardless of the intent to kill, and even if the death is accidental or caused by a third party, such as a police officer during an attempted arrest. The purpose of the rule is to deter individuals from participating in felonies that could foreseeably result in death. West Virginia's statutes would provide the specific legal framework and definitions for the application of the felony murder rule within the state.