Articles Posted in Homicide

Until 2019, countless of inmates in California had been serving unjustly long sentences for murder convictions, even though they never killed, attempted to kill, or intended for a person to die. Fortunately, as part of the ongoing criminal justice reform in California, in 2017, the state legislature acknowledged the need for more equitable sentencing of offenders and determined that reform in the laws is necessary to reflect one of the basic principles of the law and of equity, that a person should be punished for his o her actions based on their own level of individual culpability.

As a result of their findings, the California Legislature concluded that the felony murder rule and the natural and probable consequences doctrine, as it relates to murder, have to be amended, and on September 30, 2018, the former California Governor Jerry Brown, signed into law SB 1437, which was codified as Penal Code §1170.95. In short, SB 1437 changes Penal Code §§188 and 189 by limiting the number of people that can be convicted of felony murder, and by effectively eliminating the role of the natural and probable consequences doctrine in murder cases.

Prior to SB 1437, a person could have been convicted of felony murder if he or she participated in or aided in the commission of a felony and a victim died during or as a result of the felony. Under the new law, in order for someone to be convicted of felony murder, he or she has to participate or attempt to participate in a felony in which a death occurs and:

Gun Law Enhancement

Gun Law Enhancements Can Result in Lengthy Sentences.

LET’S TALK CRIMINAL GUN ENHANCEMENTS (AB1509)

Under California gun laws, a sentence for a felony case can be “enhanced” if a gun was possessed or used during the commission of a crime. These laws can extend sentences well beyond the maximum punishment for the principal crime itself. If there are multiple enhancements or more than one enhancement, the punishment imposed will be the longest possible sentence. 

CDC Prisoners

CDC Prisoners seeking early release via the granting of parole.

LA DA GEORGE GASCON CONTINUES TO MAKE WAVES WITH PAROLE CHANGES

Since being sworn in as Los Angeles County District Attorney in December 2020, George Gascon has hardly been out of the headlines. From eliminating sentence enhancements for hate crimes and dismissing gang enhancements to removing firearm allegations and continuing to push for resentencing and sentence commutation; Gascon has shown himself to maintain a progressive approach focused on rehabilitation. His latest changes to the DA’s office have been highly controversial. 

NEW LA COUNTY DA PROMOTING SWEEPING CHANGES (GEORGE GASCON)

On December 7, 2020, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon was sworn in as the County’s 43rd District Attorney. Following his defeat of Jackie Lacey, a DA who had built a reputation for a “tough-on-crime” approach, Gascon went straight to work making changes to his office true to his platform of criminal justice reform, progressive services, and rehabilitative prosecution. A main goal of his platform being lowering the prison population. 

Gascon’s less punitive approach to crime includes no more gang enhancements, eliminating cash bail (including no longer seeking bail for anyone facing a misdemeanor charge or non-violent or non-serious felony), ending use of the death penalty, and providing resentencing eligibility. These major changes are expected to lead to the early release of thousands of state prison inmates whom Gascon said are unfairly serving overly long sentences.

FELONY MURDER RULE RELIEF (SB 1437)

On September 30,  2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1437. SB 1437 became known as the Felony Murder Rule effectively changing the rules for how California charges felony murders.

Prior to SB 1437, California law allowed a defendant to be convicted of first-degree murder in the commission of a felony even if the defendant did not intend to kill the victim or did not know a murder took place. This means that in the commission of a residential burglary, for instance, if someone were killed as a result of the incident a getaway driver would be charged with and convicted or murder even if they had not stepped into the scene of the crime. This former broader law meant hundred of convictions of murder for individuals who never intended on seeing someone harmed in the commission of a felony act.

Senate Bill 1437 took effect in January of this year, yet many still challenge whether the new state law regarding felony murder is constitutional.

The old felony murder doctrine left countless people locked up in prison, some for decades, for murders they didn’t commit. Essentially, anyone who was an accomplice was considered equally responsible in a crime and could face charges of first degree murder, even it that person had no idea that someone else would take another person’s life.

While California’s felony murder rule was described as “barbaric” in a 1983 ruling by the state’s Supreme Court, nothing was done. Over 35 years later, we finally have a new felony murder law that will hopefully prevent those who did not commit murder or have any intent to kill someone from facing the same charges and penalties as someone who actually “did the deed.”

SB 1437 is a senate bill that has been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, a law that goes into effect on the first day of the new year. What does this mean for convicted felons who are behind bars for a murder that occurred during a burglary, robbery, or other circumstances in which the offender did not directly assist in killing the victim or was not a key participant in the underlying felony who acted with careless negligence to the life of the deceased?

To put it simply, SB 1437 would make it unlawful for a person to be held liable for murder if that person did not act with careless disregard or indifference to human life in regards to the deceased, and did not kill or intend to kill the victim.

According to reports, in San Diego alone there are about 150 cases that could be affected by the new law; those convicted of felony murder could ultimately find themselves free and outside of prison walls should a second chance in court prove successful. In total, up to 800 cases in California might be impacted by this new change to the state’s felony murder law. While some are praising the new law, others believe it goes too far and could put the public’s safety in jeopardy.

On Wednesday November 18, a 29-year-old Downey police officer was shot to death while sitting in his own car. According to news reports at Fox News, Officer Ricardo “Ricky” Galvez, a former Marine, was in plain clothes and sitting in his own vehicle when two men ran up and opened fire on Galvez.

News reports state that in all, three attackers were arrested within hours of the shooting, which authorities believe occurred as the result of a botched robbery. The three attackers were 16, 18, and 21 and were reportedly on the lookout for someone to rob when they saw the officer sitting in his car.

Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. said that Galvez had just ended his shift when the attack happened, and that he believed the attackers did not know he was a police officer when they attempted to rob him. Corina did not believe Galvez saw the young men coming toward him. The gunshots were heard by another officer who chased the suspects as they fled into Montebello. SWAT officers swept surrounding neighborhoods in their attempt to capture the three men; the getaway driver was arrested a short time later, and a gun found that was believed to be the one used in the shooting.

On Friday July 10, Long Beach Police Dept. detectives arrested a man in connection with the July 4th murder of 38-year-old Allen Estes who was found stabbed to death at Anaheim Street and Dawson Avenue. According to news sources, 24-year-old Norman Matthew Perdon, Estes’ former roommate, is accused of the killing. He is now facing murder and weapons charges.

Authorities say Perdon fatally stabbed Estes during an argument, and that a dispute had been ongoing that stemmed from the time they spent as roommates. Estes was reportedly stabbed in the early morning hours and was found by police near the intersection at approximately 5:30 a.m., where he succumbed to his injuries. News reports did not reveal details of the ongoing dispute between the two men.

At last report, Perdon was being held in the Long Beach jail on more than $1 million bail.

Mary Virginia Jones, a 74-year-old Los Angeles woman who has been incarcerated for 32 years in connection with a 1981 murder, was scheduled to be released from prison on March 25, according to a news article at CBS Los Angeles.  A judge ruled on Monday that she would be released for a murder which was committed by her abusive boyfriend, Mose Willis, who died while on death row.

Jones was convicted in 1981 on charges of kidnapping, robbery, and first-degree murder in a shooting death related to dealing drugs, according to the report.  Law students at USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project worked to free Jones, who they say would not have been found guilty had the jury been allowed to hear testimony on the effects of battered women’s syndrome, now known as “intimate partner battery.”  The project claims that Mose Willis, Jones’ boyfriend at the time, forced her to drive to an alley after he kidnapped two drug dealers; he then shot both, and one of the men died.  Supervising defense attorney Heidi Rummel, who is co-director of the USC justice project, said that Jones ran after Willis shot at the men, expecting that Willis would shoot her and possibly kill her, too.

One week before Willis shot at the two drug dealers, he allegedly shot at Jones’  daughter and threatened that if police were contacted, he would kill them both.  Jones said before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan on Monday that she believed entering a no contest plea to voluntary manslaughter was in her best interest in regards to getting out of custody, but that she did not participate in the crime willingly.  Judge Ryan gave her credit for time served, setting aside her convictions and ordering that she be set free.

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