Seumanu

A jury in Alameda County Superior Court convicted Ropati Seumanu in 2000 of the first degree murder of Nolan Pamintuan (Pen. Code, § 187; all further statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated), kidnapping to commit robbery (§ 209, subd. (a)), and first degree robbery (§ 211). The jury also sustained special circumstance allegations that Seumanu committed a murder while engaged in the commission of a robbery and a kidnapping. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A) & (B).) In addition, the jury found that for all three felonies, defendant used a firearm; to wit, a shotgun. (Former § 12022.5.) On November 1, 2000, after weighing the aggravating and mitigating evidence, the jury set the penalty at death under the 1978 death penalty law. (§ 190.1 et seq.) This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

Following the decision in Jones v. Chappell (C.D.Cal. 2014) 31 F.Supp.3d 1050 , holding that delays in implementing the California death penalty law rendered it unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the parties filed supplemental briefs addressed to that issue. As explained below, we reject the Eighth Amendment claim and…