Error and/or relief
It was error for the court to deny the defendant’s petition for resentencing under section 1172.6 at the prima facie stage. Remanded for the court to conduct an evidentiary hearing.
First Holding:
Section 189, as amended, limits liability under a felony-murder theory principally to actual killers and those who, with the intent to kill, aid, abet, counsel, command, induce, solicit, request, or assist the actual killer in the commission of murder in the first degree. Defendants who were neither actual killers nor acted with the intent to kill can be held liable for murder only if they were major participants in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life, as described in section 190.2(d)—that is, the statute defining the felony-murder special circumstance.
Authority:
PEN 189
People v. Strong (2022) 13 Cal.5th 698, 708
Second Holding:
A person convicted of felony murder or other theory under which malice is imputed to a person based solely on that person’s participation in a crime may file a petition with the court that sentenced the petitioner to have the petitioner’s murder conviction vacated and to be resentenced. The petition must allege the petitioner was:
(1) charged with one of the enumerated crimes under a theory of felony murder or other theory under which malice is imputed to a person based solely on that person’s participation in a crime;
(2) convicted of murder, attempted murder, or manslaughter; and
(3) could not presently be convicted of murder because of changes to sections 188 or 189.
Authority:
PEN 1172.6
Third Holding:
Where the petition complies with the three requirements, the superior court proceeds to section 1172.6c), to assess whether the petitioner has made a prima facie showing for relief. The prima facie inquiry is limited. The court takes petitioner’s factual allegations as true and makes a preliminary assessment regarding whether the petitioner would be entitled to relief if his or her factual allegations were proved.
If so, the court must issue an order to show cause. A court should not reject the petitioner’s factual allegations on credibility grounds without first conducting an evidentiary hearing. At the prima facie hearing, the court may consider the record of conviction. If the petition and record in the case establish conclusively that the defendant is ineligible for relief, the superior court may dismiss the petition.
Authority:
People v. Lewis (2021) 11 Cal.5th 952, 960, 971
People v. Strong (2022) 13 Cal.5th 698, 708
Fourth Holding:
A denial at the prima facie stage is appropriate only if the record of conviction demonstrates that the petitioner is ineligible for relief as a matter of law. This is a purely legal conclusion, which we review de novo.
Authority:
People v. Lewis (2021) 11 Cal.5th 952, 960
People v. Harden (2022) 81 Cal.App.5th 45, 52
Fifth Holding:
To be liable for felony murder as a direct aider and abettor, a nonkiller must not only share the perpetrator’s intent to kill but must also aid or abet the actual killer in the lethal act, and not just the underlying felony.
Authority:
People v. Morris (2026) 19 Cal.5th 671, 693
People v. Reyes (2023) 14 Cal.5th 981, 991 [implied malice murder liability as a direct aider and abettor requires aiding the commission of the perpetrator’s life-endangering act]
Sixth Holding:
Since a nonkiller must aid or abet the actual killer in the lethal act itself, and not just the underlying felony, the jury’s true finding on the lying-in-wait special circumstance is insufficient to prevent defendant from making a prima facie showing for resentencing relief under section 1172.6.
Authority:
People v. Morris (2026) 19 Cal.5th 671, 693
People v. Bocanegra (2026) 122 Cal.App.5th 481