Assault with a weapon would easily qualify as "an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary" as would committing insurrection against the government...
Sure, "killing while perpetrating certain crimes" would fit. That's not what Agema et al were talking about, they were talking about "intent to do harm".
However, you're taking the quote out of context. What you quoted is for purposeful killings, not "without purpose".
Here's the full quote in it's entirety, colored for emphasis.
"Whoever, being of sound memory and discretion, kills another purposely, either of deliberate and premeditated malice or by means of poison, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary,
or without purpose to do so kills another in perpetrating or in attempting to perpetrate any arson, as defined in § 22-301 or § 22-302, first degree sexual abuse, first degree child sexual abuse, first degree cruelty to children, mayhem, robbery, or kidnaping, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate any housebreaking while armed with or using a dangerous weapon, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate a felony involving a controlled substance, is guilty of murder in the first degree. For purposes of imprisonment following revocation of release authorized by § 24-403.01(b)(7), murder in the first degree is a Class A felony."
The rules are different based on whether you kill another purposely, in which case it's "attempting to perpetrate an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary".
If you kill someone "without purpose to do so", then the rules are "if you're committing sexual abuse, cruelty to children, mayhem, robbery, kidnapping, armed robbery, etc..."
So "an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary" only applies, killings on purpose, not killings on accident.