Why Did I Serve 16 Years for Murder When I Didn’t Kill Anyone? | NYT Opinion

In 2003, Adnan Khan committed a robbery in which one of his accomplices unexpectedly killed their victim. The prosecutors, judge and jury all agreed Khan did not plan or commit the murder. Yet he was still sentenced as if he had — and given a life sentence. The reason is the felony murder rule, an arcane piece of legal doctrine that allows all accomplices to be held equally responsible for deaths that happen in the committing of a felony. Researchers estimate as many as one in five people serving long life