England is the origination point for felony murder laws, yet those laws were abolished in 1957. Today, America is the only country where felony murder laws exist. Illinois expanded the ways felony murder could be charged in 1961 after having the law in place since 1827. Then, on January 22, 2021, the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act, was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker.
A provision that narrowed—but did not abolish—Illinois felony murder laws was tucked away in the SAFE-T Act. Many people who fell under the felony murder law seem to have been deliberately left behind under SAFE-T. The Illinois felony murder law prior to SAFE-T establishes strict liability without the requirement of proof of culpable mental state regarding the actions that caused a death.