People v. Barrios CA2/7

INTRODUCTION

Carlos Ramirez Barrios was convicted of special circumstance first degree murder, burglary, and attempted robbery. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) plus 25 years to life. Barrios was 19 years old at the time of the offense. He appeals from a postjudgment order denying his motion for a hearing under People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261 (Franklin) and In re Cook (2019) 7 Cal.5th 439 (Cook).1 The superior court determined Barrios was ineligible for a youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 30512 because he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Barrios contends section 3051 violates his federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection because young adult offenders serving LWOP sentences for crimes they committed when they were 18 to 25 years old are ineligible for youth offender parole hearings, but young adult offenders serving non- LWOP sentences and juvenile offenders who committed crimes before the age of 18 serving LWOP sentences are eligible. Barrios also argues his sentence constituted cruel or unusual

1 In Franklin, supra, 63 Cal.4th at pages 283 to 284, the California Supreme…