DOES THE PUNISHMENT FIT?
In Sarah Stillman’s recent story, she describes America’s draconian use of what has become known as the “felonymurder rule,” in which any participant in a crime committed as a group—for instance, a robbery—can be prosecuted for any death that occurs while the crime is being carried out (“What Makes a Murder?,” December 18th). Her piece takes up the case of Sadik Baxter, who set out to steal from some parked cars with a friend and was promptly arrested. His friend fled the scene in a vehicle, ran a red light, and killed two cyclists. Even though Baxter couldn’t have been expected to foresee these two deaths as an outcome of his theft, he was charged with and convicted of first-degree murder. He’s now serving a life sentence…
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The New Yorker (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 22, 2024