California Court of Appeal

Grant of petition for habeas corpus relief from sentence of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for committing a first degree murder with special circumstances when he was 17 years old, Pen. Code section 190.5(b), is affirmed over Government's appeal where: 1) Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. ___ [132 S.Ct. 2455], which held that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments, applies retroactively; 2) during initial sentencing, the trial court did not the comply with Miller and People v. Gutierrez (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1354; and 3) Pen. Code section 1170(d)(2) does not provide an adequate statutory remedy for Miller error.

Appellate Information

• Published 2016/05/12

Judges

• AARON

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel