A forcible felony, in the criminal law of various US states, is a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

that is subject to special penalties because it involves the use or threat of physical force. Forcible felonies are defined by statute. Typical examples of forcible felonies include murder,

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/ asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the ...

, and

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

Police pursuits

Some states have adopted a "forcible felony rule", under which police are only authorized to use deadly force to apprehend people suspected of forcible felonies. Prior to the Supreme Court's 1985 decision in '' Tennessee v. Garner'', this was a minority position, and many states authorized deadly force to apprehend any fleeing felon. Many jurisdictions came to adopt the forcible felony rule for vehicular pursuits as well.

Self-defense

Many states authorize the use of lethal force to prevent the commission of a forcible felony against oneself or others. These include Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma and Utah.

Florida

Florida defines forcible felonies to include

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murde ...

as well as violent felonies. Forcible felonies are subject to mandatory minimum sentences under the state's

10-20-Life The Florida Statute 775.087, known as the 10-20-Life law, is a mandatory minimum sentencing law in the U.S. state of Florida. The law concerns the use of a firearm during the commission of a forcible felony. The Florida Statute's name comes f ...

law.

Illinois

In addition to violent crimes, forcible felonies under Illinois law include burglary, residential burglary, and treason. Any felony may be a forcible felony under Illinois law if the felony "involves the use or threat of physical force or violence". The Illinois rule for

felony murder The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...

defines any killing that occurs in the commission of a forcible felony as

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

, regardless of intent (unless the felony itself is second-degree murder). A 2021 reform included in the SAFE-T Act narrowed that rule to require that one of the participants in the felony have "caused the death of a person". In 2018, Illinois was the first state in the US to adopt legislation recognizing

postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and cha ...

and

postpartum psychosis Postpartum psychosis, also known as puerperal psychosis, involves the abrupt onset of severe mental illness shortly following childbirth. While symptoms of postpartum psychosis have long been observed in mothers, the phenomenon eventually came t ...

as mitigating factors in forcible felonies. The legislation applies to criminal sentencing as well as post-conviction relief.

Works cited

References

{{US-law-stub Criminal law legal terminology U.S. state criminal law