Estrada

DISCUSSION

I. Governing Law

On January 1, 2019, Senate Bill No. 1437 took effect “ ‘to amend the felony murder rule and the natural and probable consequences doctrine, as it relates to murder, to ensure that murder liability is not imposed on a person who is not the actual killer, did not act with the intent to kill, or was not a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life.’ ” (People v. Lewis (2021) 11 Cal.5th 952, 959 (Lewis).) Senate Bill No. 1437 amended sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code and added section 1170.95, which

3 provides a procedure for individuals convicted of murder who could not be convicted under the law as amended to retroactively seek relief. (Lewis, supra, 11 Cal.5th at p. 957; People v. Gentile (2020) 10 Cal.5th 830, 842–843 (Gentile).) Section 1170.95 created a three-part eligibility test: (1) the defendant must have been charged with murder by means of a charging document that allowed the prosecution to proceed under a theory of felony murder or under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, (2) the defendant must have been convicted of first or second degree murder, and (3) the defendant…