§ 2-3 Felony Murder

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Criminal (SCBar) (2012 Ed.)

§ 2-3 Felony Murder

South Carolina does not recognize any distinction between common law murder and felony murder.

The South Carolina Supreme Court edified the Bench and Bar in State v. Yates, 280 S.C. 29, 310 S.E.2d 805 (1982), overruled on other grounds by State v. Torrence, 305 S.C. 45, 406 S.E.2d 315 (1991):

Since this [S]tate adheres to the common law rule of murder and makes no distinction between murder and felony murder, a statutory aggravating circumstance of murder in a death penalty case remains as such regardless of whether the crime charged is murder or felony murder.
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...South Carolina adheres to the common law rule of murder and makes no distinction between murder and felony murder.

Yates, 280 S.C. at 34-38, 310 S.E.2d at 808-10.

Thereafter, in State v. Norris, 285 S.C. 86, 328 S.E.2d 339 (1985), overruled on other grounds by State v. Torrence, 305 S.C. 45, 406 S.E.2d 315 (1991), the Supreme Court inculcated:

While we find no error in the trial judge's comment upon the felony-murder rule, we take this opportunity to remind Bench and Bar that South Carolina follows the

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