People v. Harper CA4/1

I.

BACKGROUND

A. Murder Conviction On May 20, 2000, Harper and other members of his criminal street gang armed themselves and went to the apartment of a drug dealer to rob him. During the encounter, the drug dealer was shot and killed. A jury found Harper guilty of felony murder, found true an attached gang enhancement allegation, and found not true an allegation he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death. On October 12, 2001, the superior court sentenced Harper to prison for 25 years to life for the murder plus a consecutive prison term of 10 years for the gang enhancement. On appeal, this court modified the judgment by striking the gang enhancement and imposing a 15-year minimum parole eligibility period and affirmed the judgment as modified. (People v. Harper (2003) 109 Cal.App.4th 520, 527-528 (Harper).)

Subsequent undesignated section references are to the Penal Code. 2 B. Section 1170.95 Petition Effective January 1, 2019, the Legislature changed the felony-murder rule “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…