Ryan Holle

Ryan Joseph Holle (born November 17, 1982) is an American convict found guilty in 2004 of first degree murder under the felony murder rule for lending his car to a friend after the friend and others at a party discussed their plans to steal drugs and money and beat up the 18-year-old daughter of Christine Snyder.^[1][2][3] A former resident of Pensacola, Florida, United States, he served a sentence of 25 years at the Marion Correctional Facility after his life without the possibility of parole sentence was commuted by Governor Rick Scott.^[1]

On the early morning of March 10, 2003, after a night of partying, Holle lent his car to a friend and housemate,^[1] William Allen, Jr.^[4] Allen used the car to drop three men off at the house of Christine Snyder, where they removed a safe containing 1 pound (454 g) of marijuana and $425.^[4] During the burglary, one of the men, Charles Miller, Jr., used a shotgun he had found in the house to bludgeon Jessica Snyder to death.^[1][4] Holle was 1+1⁄2 miles (2 km) away.^[1]

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Charles Miller, Jr., who confessed to the killing; but he was sentenced to life without parole on May 12, 2005.^[3] The two men who entered the Snyders' home with him each received the same sentence, as did the driver, William Allen, Jr.^[1]

Christine Snyder was sentenced to three years in prison for marijuana possession.^[1]

Holle, who had given the police statements in which he seemed to admit knowing about the burglary, was convicted on August 3, 2004,^[2] of first-degree murder under a legal doctrine known as the felony murder rule. The doctrine broadens murder liability for participants in violent felonies to include a killing by an accomplice. As the prosecutor David Rimmer explained: "No car, no murder." The victim's father, Terry Snyder, concurred: "It never would have happened unless Ryan Holle had lent the car. It was as good as if he was there."^[1]

Allen said in a pretrial deposition that all Holle did "was to say, 'Use the car.' I mean, nobody really knew that girl was going to get killed. It was not in the plans to go kill somebody, you know." Holle had no criminal record. He had lent his car to Allen countless times before. In a 2007 interview with The New York Times, Holle stated that "I honestly thought they were going to get food," adding that "When they actually mentioned what was going on, I thought it was a joke." He added that he was naive, and had been drinking all night, so he "didn't understand what was going on."^[1]

Holle was the only involved person to be offered a plea bargain that might have led to a sentence of only 10 years, but he refused the deal. Holle's trial lasted one day, including testimony, jury deliberations, conviction, and sentencing.^[1]

The perceived injustice of receiving a life sentence for a murder committed by someone else was pointed out by former Florida Governor (now US Senator) Rick Scott when, on June 24, 2015, he commuted Holle's sentence to 25 years in prison and 10 years of probation. ^[5]

"I believe that the purpose of commutations is to undo such obviously inequitable results," Scott said at the time. "Because Ryan Holle's responsibility for [the victim's] death is clearly less than [his co-defendants], I believe his sentence should likewise be less." ^{[6] [7]}

This was the first commutation for felony murder in Florida history. ^[7] Holle was released on June 30, 2024.^[8]

Since his release from prison, Holle has partnered with another inmate, Doug Gilding, who wrote a felony murder reform bill entitled the Ryan Holle Reform Act. ^[9] Gilding’s case involved circumstances similar to Holle’s, in which he was at home asleep when the crime occurred and was sentenced to life without parole under Florida’s felony murder rule. ^{[7] [9]}

Upon reading about Holle's commutation, Gilding, who has been in prison for almost 30 years now, was inspired to write a reform bill that would change Florida's felony murder law by capping the amount of time in prison for individuals who were not the actual killer or a major participant in the crime. ^{[6] [7] [9] [10]}

So far, the bill has received limited support. With Holle now released from prison, advocates hope that he will be able to engage legislators on the issue of Florida’s felony murder law, which currently allows individuals who did not kill anyone or were not present during the crime to receive life sentences. ^{[9] [10]}

• Doug Gilding – Incarcerated for nearly 30 years, Gilding’s case is notable for its application of the felony murder rule, as he received a life sentence despite not being present at the scene of the crime.
• Felony murder rule (Florida)