State v. Sophophone

Facts

Sophophone and three other people conspired to break into a house in Emporia, and they broke in. The resident called the police. Officers arrived and saw four people leaving the back of the house. They shined a light on the suspects, identified themselves as police officers, and ordered them to stop. The four ran. One officer caught Sophophone, handcuffed him, and put him in a police car. Other officers chased the rest. One officer chased Somphone Sysoumphone, who crossed railroad tracks, jumped a fence, and stopped. The officer approached with his weapon drawn and ordered Sysoumphone to the ground and not to move. Sysoumphone lay face down, then raised up and fired at the officer. The officer returned fire and killed him. No one disputed that Sysoumphone was one of the people seen leaving the burglarized house. The State charged Sophophone with conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, aggravated burglary, obstruction of official duty, and felony murder. The Kansas statute makes a killing first degree murder when it is committed in the commission of, attempt to commit, or flight from an inherently dangerous felony. Aggravated burglary is one of those felonies, and Sophophone did not dispute that. Neither Sophophone nor any of his accomplices killed anyone. The officer acted lawfully.

Issues

1. Under the Kansas felony-murder statute, can a defendant be convicted of felony murder for the death of a co-felon who was killed during flight from an aggravated burglary by the lawful act of a police officer acting in self-defense?
2. Should State v. Hoang, which allowed felony-murder liability for a co-felon's death, be overruled?

Holding

Under the facts of this case, where the killing resulted from the lawful acts of a law enforcement officer attempting to apprehend a co-felon, Sophophone was not criminally responsible for Sysoumphone's death, so his felony-murder conviction was reversed. The court left Hoang in place and denied the request to overrule it.