People v. Williams

A jury convicted appellant Anita Louise Williams of first degree felony murder (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189) and robbery (Pen. Code, § 211). She was sentenced to state prison for 25 years to life for the murder (count I) and to the upper term of 5 years for the robbery (count II), the latter to be served concurrently with the sentence on count I.

Appellant contends that her sentence violates the cruel or unusual punishment prohibition of the state Constitution (Cal. Const., art. I, § 17) and that the trial court erred in denying her request for jury instructions on lesser included offenses to the murder. Both arguments are based on People v. Dillon (1983) 34 Cal.3d 441 [ 194 Cal.Rptr. 390 , 668 P.2d 697 ], Dillon held that the penalty for first degree felony murder is subject to the prohibition against cruel or unusual punishments, which includes the rule that a punishment is impermissible if grossly disproportionate to the offense or the culpability of the offender.

We hold that Dillon does not transform the constitutional question of whether a sentence is cruel or unusual in a particular case into a jury question. We further hold that the sentence in this case does not…