Bagsby

INTRODUCTION

James Lamont Bagsby was convicted and sentenced to a total prison term of 107 years to life for violent crimes he committed when he was 15 years old. In 2023, after serving more than 15 years of his sentence, he filed a petition for recall and resentencing under Penal Code1 section 1170, subdivision (d) (section 1170(d)). This provision expressly applies only to juveniles sentenced to explicitly designated terms of life without the

possibility of parole.2 However, in People v. Heard (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 608 (Heard), this court held that to deny juvenile offenders sentenced to the functional equivalent of life without parole the opportunity to petition for resentencing under section 1170(d) violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws. Bagsby argued he was sentenced to the functional equivalent of life without parole, and under Heard he had the right to petition for recall and resentencing. The trial court agreed with Bagsby that Heard was controlling and granted his petition for recall and resentencing. Although the People opposed granting Bagsby’s petition, the People conceded, and the trial court agreed, that upon resentencing, Bagsby was…