Under Iowa law a person commits felony murder when the person commits a murder while participating in the commission of a forcible felony. A person convicted of felony murder is guilty of murder in the first degree and this crime is punishable as a class “A” felony which carries a sentence of life imprisonment.
A “forcible felony” is defined as any felonious child endangerment, assault, murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, robbery, arson in the first degree, or burglary in the first degree.
