Early in the morning of
February 15, 2002, 23 year-old Janet Danahey set fire to a
box of party decorations and an old futon as a prank
outside her former boyfriend's College Walk apartment in
Greensboro, NC.
Janet and two girlfriends had been drinking wine on
Valentine's night and decided to play a prank on Janet's
ex-boyfriend by pouring some clam juice into the car's
fresh air intake so that a foul odor would result when the
heater was operated.
The young man's car was not in the parking lot so it was
decided that Janet would instead set a box of Chrismas
decorations on fire in front of her ex's door.
It was a windy night, the fire quickly got out of control
on the wooden breezeway of the wooden apartment building,
and it set the apartment building itself on fire, resulting
in the horrible deaths of four innocent young people (from
left to right): sisters Rachel Llewellyn, 21, and Donna
Llewellyn, 24; Ryan Bek, 25; and Elizabeth Harris, 20.
Fast-forward to July 29, 2002:
Janet Danahey was facing prosecution under a little-known
law called the felony murder rule, which states that if a
person commits or attempts to commit certain felonies, in
this case arson, any deaths which may result from the
felony are charged as first-degree murder. Intent to commit
murder does not have to be proved, and there are only two
possible penalties after being found guilty under the
felony murder rule: death, or life in prison without
possibility of parole. The law also holds that any persons
with the perpetrator of the felony must also be held
accountable in the same manner as if they, themselves, were
perpetrators of the felony and prosecuted accordingly.
Even if the death involved with the underlying felony is
unintended, even if the victim dies of fright of a heart
attack, it's first-degree murder. And remember, intent does
not have to be proved, only the intent to commit the
underlying felony—in this case, arson. Read the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the felony murder rule.
Janet Danahey was threatened with the death penalty if she
didn't plead guilty.
It is important to note that the two other girls with Janet
the night of February 15 were not charged. They hired
lawyers who went to authorities with their version of what
happened in prepared statements.
It is also important to note that no one, not Janet Danahey
nor either of her two friends called 911, banged on doors
to awaken sleeping apartment residents, or did anything
that might have saved lives or prevented injury. They
panicked, as anyone may in a situation gone far beyond
control. This doesn't excuse their actions, but it perhaps
makes their behavior somewhat easier to comprehend.
Rather than go through an expensive and no doubt
gut-wrenching trial, Janet Danahey, perhaps altruistically,
pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and
one count of arson and was immediately sentenced to life in
prison without possibility of parole at the North Carolina
Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh.
What happened to Janet Danahey could have happened to any
of us or to our own children. Youth is often so dangerously
careless and carefree in its exuberance.
Prosecutors have discretion. Janet Danahey did not have to
be charged under the felony murder rule. The felony murder
rule in the hands of a prosecutor is sometimes a very
dangerous, even lethal, combination.
Even so, the Guilford County District Attorney publicly
stated that he didn't believe that Janet Danahey intended
anything that night other than to burn an old sofa. Why
didn't he then prosecute her humanely? Why didn't he
prosecute her for involuntary manslaughter? If she had been
convicted and her sentences were served consecutively
rather than concurrently, she would have still served many
years in prison. Of course, a judge and jury could have
decided that the sentences should run concurrently and then
she could have drawn a maximum sentence that would still
have been twenty years or more.
Please don't misunderstand. North Carolina Citizens for
Felony Murder Rule Change is in no way trying to lessen or
diminish the fact that four talented, bright, completely
innocent young people died as a result of what Janet
Danahey's intended prank caused. Our hearts break for the
families and friends of these four young people. The pain,
the sorrow of losing a child to death is one that never
goes away. People talk of "closure," but when a child is
lost, there is no closure.
At her sentencing, Janet said, "I never meant to hurt
anyone. I'm so sorry. I would never want to hurt them."
Janet spoke of a dream she had in which "The angels of [the
families'] children have come to me and touched my hand and
told me what it felt like to feel their flesh burn." She
went on to say "I will spend the rest of my life trying to
be a part of you."
Perhaps the words of Danahey's sister summed it up best:
five lives were lost as a result of the College Walk
Apartments fire, not four.
Two wrongs don't make a right. Had Janet Danahey been tried
under any other NC murder law, she would not be serving a
life sentence without parole.
All of our other murder laws are predicated on the intent
of the perpetrator. That's why we have a gradation of
murder laws from first-degree (premeditated) to
second-degree, murder laws that deal with crimes of
passion, down to manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
These laws are in place so that the punishment can be
proportionate to the intentions of the perpetrator and
actual deed.
The felony murder rule has no such protection. It is a
"gotcha" kind of law, and some important aspects of the FMR
have yet to be tested in the US Supreme Court as to their
constitutionality. North Carolina Citizens for Felony
Murder Rule Change and many criminal lawyers do not believe
it is constitutional (See "What's Wrong With The Felony
Murder Rule" on this Web site).
What checks and balances exist for prosecutorial vengeance
and abuse of power other than We the People? Because only
an informed citizenry communicating its feelings with
convincing, compelling clarity to its elected state
representatives can cause laws to be changed, North
Carolina Citizens for Felony Murder Rule Change sprang up
in response to Janet Danahey's prosecution and sentencing
under the Draconian felony murder rule.
Janet Danahey, barely more than a college girl, has been
convicted under North Carolina's version of the felony
murder rule, the most powerful criminal law on our books,
which is normally reserved for hardened sociopaths, repeat
offenders, and other offenders who show no comprehension or
conscience.
Unless something extraordinary happens, Janet will die in
prison.
North Carolina Citizens for Felony Murder Rule Change hope
that by repealing or amending the felony murder rule,
further more lenient court action may become possible for
Janet before she is an old woman.
What kind of young woman is Janet Danahey?
She made good grades in high
school, near the top of her class. Friends and teachers
alike describe her as "sweet," lighthearted, but always
very responsible and very respectful." "To know her is to
love her," said one.
She was in the Latin Club and Drama Club -- playing in
"Godspell." She won the Girl Scouts highest honor, the Gold
Award, for a project that involved working with the Humane
Society to rescue animals. She loved animals.
She prayed in the mornings
before school as a member of the Young Christian Society
and played viola in her high school orchestra.
Some of Janet's adult leaders nominated her to carry the
Olympic torch on a portion of its run to the 1996 Summer
Olympics in Atlanta, and she carried it proudly, wearing
her trademark smile.
She made the Dean's List her
first semester in college at Appalachian State University
and later transferred to UNCG to be near a boyfriend. She
earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in
2000, and was heard to talk about "saving the environment,
and the world." As she began her first tentative forays
into post-college life, she talked about going back to
school for advanced studies, but wanted to sample some of
the real world first.
Janet Danahey is not a murderer, but she has been convicted
as one. She foolishly, carelessly, and recklessly set an
old box of decorations and a futon on fire as a prank and
is serving the maximum criminal sentence possible without
losing her life.
Whatever you may think about Janet Danahey, we hope that
you will agree with us that her sentence under North
Carolina's felony murder rule is way too harsh for someone
who has no past criminal history, and indeed, has otherwise
lived an exemplary, positive, and socially-conscious life.
The personal tragedy that the felony murder rule can
unfairly inflict on people does not stop with Janet
Danahey. There have been other such injustices in which
others have suffered across the country. See Other Cases on this website
for more examples of the consequences of having been
prosecuted under this law.
Teens, young adults, and even "mature" people don't always
think of how their actions might affect others. This
doesn't make these actions right, but we must punish them
according the details of their situations, rather than take
shortcuts to justice.
Janet in
prison photo, February 2006