In the state of Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, the common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

 felony murder rule has been codified in K.S.A. 21-3401. The statute

Statute

A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...

 defines first degree murder as, among other things, homicide

Homicide

Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...

 in the commission of, attempt to commit, or escape from an inherently dangerous felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

. Inherently dangerous felonies are defined in K.S.A. 21-3436 and include armed robbery, arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

, and aggravated burglary

Burglary

Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...

.

Judicial interpretations

In the case State v. Hoang, 243 Kan. 40 (1988), the Supreme Court of Kansas held that the accidental death of a co-felon during the commission of arson could support a felony murder conviction.

In the case State v. Sophophone, 270 Kan. 703 (2001), the Supreme Court of Kansas held that a felony murder conviction could not be supported if the co-felon was killed by lawful attempts at apprehension by a police officer.