People v. Simmons
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The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of petitions for resentencing under Penal Code section 1170.95. Petitioner was sentenced to a term of life without the possibility of parole for murder with the special circumstance that petitioner was engaged in the commission and attempted commission of a robbery at the time the murder was committed. The trial court summarily denied the petitions on the ground that petitioner was a major participant in the underlying felony who acted with reckless indifference to human life, a disqualifying factor pursuant to section 1170.95, subdivision (a)(3).
The court concluded that any error in failing to appoint counsel or afford petitioner the other procedures outlined in section 1170.95, subdivision (c) was harmless, because the record establishes petitioner is ineligible for resentencing as a matter of law. The court explained that the principles for determining whether defendant was a major contributor who acted with reckless indifference to human life existed when petitioner was convicted and, absent a determination on direct appeal or in habeas that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's finding, there is no basis to conclude petitioner's jury applied different standards.
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