People v. Jackson CA1/4

Background On March 16, 1977, a jury found defendant guilty of two counts of first degree murder and one count of first degree burglary. Defendant was sentenced to two terms of life in prison, with the sentence stayed on the burglary count. His convictions and sentence were affirmed by this court. (People v. Jackson (May 10, 1978, 1 Crim. No. 16903) [nonpub. opn.].) In 2018, Senate Bill No. 1437 was enacted to “amend 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 underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life.” (Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 1(f).) Senate Bill No. 1437 amended

1 Penal Code section 1881 to require that a principal act with express or implied malice (§ 188, as amended by Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 2), and amended section 189 to state that a person can be liable for felony murder only if the person (1) “was the actual killer”; (2) with an intent to kill, was an aider or abettor in the commission of murder in the first degree; or (3) “was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless…