People v. Bodely
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Bodely entered a supermarket, grabbed $75 out of a cash register, and ran to his car. Andre ran to Bodely’s driver’s side window and put his arm inside the car. Bodely drove away, knocking Andre onto the hood. Andre fell and struck his head on the pavement, resulting in his death. While the taking of the $75 was charged as burglary, the prosecution argued that it could be characterized as robbery. The jury was instructed that Bodely could be found guilty of murder if the “killing was done with malice aforethought or occurred during the commission or attempted commission of burglary or robbery,” and that the “unlawful killing of a human being, whether intentional, unintentional or accidental, which occurs during the commission or attempted commission of the crime or as a direct causal result of burglary or robbery is murder of the first degree when the perpetrator had the specific intent to commit such crime.” The court of appeal affirmed Bodely's convictions for first-degree felony murder, burglary, and an unrelated robbery.
Senate Bill 1437 took effect in 2019, allowing a person convicted of felony murder or murder under the natural and probable consequences doctrine to seek resentencing. Bodely filed a petition, asserting that he could not presently be convicted of murder because of amendments to Penal Code 188 and 189. The prosecution cited section 189(e)(1): A participant in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of (robbery or burglary) in which a death occurs is liable for murder if “[t]he person was the actual killer.” The court of appeal affirmed the denial of relief. Bodely’s conviction could not have been based on an impermissible accomplice liability theory; there is no evidence in the record or the jury instructions of another participant.
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