People v. King CA1/5

BACKGROUND

A jury convicted King of first degree murder (§§ 187, 189, subd. (a)) and found true an allegation that during the commission of the offense, he “personally use[d] a deadly and dangerous weapon” – an axe handle (§ 12022, subd. (b)). King filed a section 1170.95 petition alleging that the information filed against him allowed the prosecution to proceed

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 1 under a felony murder theory or the natural and probable consequences doctrine; that he was convicted of murder pursuant to the felony murder rule or natural and probable consequences doctrine; and that he could not now be convicted of murder based on the January 1, 2019 amendments to sections 188 and 189. (See Sen. Bill No. 1437 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, §§ 1-3.) The People opposed the petition, asserting that King was ineligible for resentencing under the amendments because he was the actual killer. (See § 189, subd. (e)(1) [permitting murder liability based on felony murder or a natural and probable consequences theory for a person who was the actual killer], added by Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 3.) With the parties’ agreement, the trial…