SB 478 – Murder (Florida, 2021)

• Removes felony murder from first-degree murder (capital felony) and reclassifies it as second-degree murder (first-degree felony punishable up to life imprisonment), while retaining premeditated murder and drug distribution deaths as first-degree murder
• Limits felony murder convictions to persons who were the actual killer, who aided or abetted the killing with intent to kill, or who were a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life
• Eliminates third-degree felony murder entirely, which previously applied to killings during the perpetration of felonies not enumerated in the first- or second-degree murder statutes
• Creates section 782.041, allowing persons convicted under the prior felony murder law on or before June 30, 2021, to petition the sentencing court to have their murder conviction vacated or to be resentenced under the revised provisions effective July 1, 2021
• Amends multiple conforming statutes—including provisions on public defender conflict representation, gain-time, control release eligibility, sentencing scoresheets, and the Law Enforcement Protection Act—to reflect the elimination of third-degree murder and restructured felony murder classifications