California Court of Appeal

The petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging petitioner's sentence of 23 years for a manslaughter count and a consecutive indeterminate term of 80 years to life for two counts of attempted murder, crimes which were committed when petitioner was a minor, is granted, and the sentence is reversed and remanded for resentencing, where: 1) when added to the determinate sentence petitioner received for voluntary manslaughter, the 80-year-to-life indeterminate sentence for the non-homicide offenses results in a de facto life without the possibility of parole sentence; 2) petitioner's homicide offense was for voluntary manslaughter, a crime the Legislature has not seen fit to punish with a life sentence; and 3) under these unique circumstances, petitioner's sentence violates the Eighth Amendment under People v. Caballero (2012) 55 Cal.4th 262.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/22/2014
• Published 01/22/2014

Judges

• HUFFMAN

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel