In re Pulido CA1/1

INTRODUCTION

In 1994, petitioner Michael Pulido was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for crimes he committed when he was 16 years old. In our original opinion in this matter filed July 15, 2013, we granted petitioner habeas relief under Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. ____ [183 L.Ed.2d 407, 132 S.Ct. 2455] (Miller), which held that mandatory life imprisonment without parole (LWOP) for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. We vacated petitioner’s sentence of life without possibility of parole and remanded for resentencing. The People petitioned the Supreme Court for review. (In re Michael Pulido, review granted October 16, 2013.) The Court granted the People’s petition pending resolution of similar issues in People v. Gutierrez (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1354 (Gutierrez). (Appellate case no. S206365; see also appellate case no. S206771.) On May 5, 2014, our Supreme Court issued its opinion. (Gutierrez, supra, 58 Cal.4th 1354.) On July 10, 2014, the Court transferred petitioner’s case to us with directions to vacate our prior decision and reconsider the cause in light of…