People v. Westmoreland CA1/5

BACKGROUND

In 2009, appellant was convicted, following a jury trial, of first degree murder and other offenses. This court affirmed the conviction on direct appeal. (People v. Westmoreland (Jul. 11, 2013, A127394) [nonpub. opn.].)

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

Section 1170.95 was renumbered section 1172.6, without substantive change, effective June 30, 2022. (Stats. 2022, ch. 58, § 10.) For clarity, we will refer to the section by its current numbering.

1 In 2022, appellant filed a petition for resentencing. The trial court appointed counsel and received briefs; the parties waived oral argument. The court found appellant failed to establish a prima facie case for relief and denied the petition.

DISCUSSION

“Effective January 1, 2019, Senate Bill No. 1437 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill No. 1437) significantly limited the scope of the felony-murder rule,” providing that “a defendant who was not the actual killer and did not act with the intent to kill can only be liable for murder if she was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life.” (People v. Guiffreda (2023) 87 Cal.App.5th 112,…