I will meet with you, investigate the circumstances, review court records (if applicable), and develop a solid strategy going forward to either defend you at trial or argue for your resentencing rights. You will need the representation of an aggressive, experienced criminal defense attorney to defend yourself or to seek resentencing.Ĭontact me at McCready Law Group if you find yourself in either of these felony murder situations - facing charges or seeking resentencing. McCready Law Group: Experience You Can Trustįelony murder, whether a first-time charge or a resentencing request, presents complex legal issues involving intent, participation, different types of felonies, and other factors. The court ruled that legal action for relief must start with the original trial court and not with an appellate court. In an appellate court ruling in March 2021, the issue of relief under SB 1437 was further clarified. Using this standard, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that a defendant appealing a conviction did not possess the requisite intent and could not be found guilty of second-degree murder. Under the standard for aiding and abetting under SB 1437 - called “natural and probable causes” - a defendant may not necessarily share the other defendant’s intent but nonetheless may have assisted in the victim’s death. In that case, the decision hinged on intent and how it was defined and applied legally. Persons convicted under the pre-2019 statute can appeal for resentencing, according to a decision by the California Supreme Court in late 2020. A second-degree conviction carries a 15-year to life in prison sentence potential. First-degree murder can be charged if the accompanying felony is:Ī first-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison and a maximum of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A peace officer was killed in the performance of his or her duties due to that person’s actsĭepending on the felony you commit that results in a homicide, you can be charged with either first- or second-degree murder.That person was a “major participant” in the felony and acted with “reckless indifference to human life”.
That person aids or abets in the commission of murder in the first degree with intent to kill.SB 1437 asserts a felony murder can be charged if someone commits, attempts, or participates in a felony, and one of the following is true:
SB 1437 prevents a murder conviction against someone who “is not the actual killer, did not act with intent to kill, or was not a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life.”
They were just part of a group committing a crime, actively or not. Before California adopted its revised felony murder law in 2019, people serving prison time under the previous law were, on average, 20 years of age, and 72% of women serving a life prison sentence for felony murder did not actually commit homicide, according to a report from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and Restore Justice.įelony murder is also known as “murder while committing a felony.” According to the Coalition’s report, many of the young people convicted under the previous law were present during the felony but were not active participants in the homicide, nor even at times privy to it.
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