In November of 2019, the 4th District Court of Appeal in the cases of Lamoureux and Gooden ruled that SB 1437, Felony Murder Reform, was constitutional.
SB 1437 redefines that law for felony-murder liability by excluding “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.”
SB 1437 also permits individuals convicted of felony-murder or murder to petition for resentencing.
Patty Ann Lamoureux “was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery and felony murder arising from the killing of a friend’s family member… [and] sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole” in 2016. In that trial, “[t]his court affirmed the murder and conspiracy convictions, but concluded the evidence was insufficient to support the finding that Lamoureux had an intent to kill or acted with reckless indifference to human life.”
She filed an SB 1437 petition in 2019 to vacate a first-degree murder conviction and obtain resentencing under section 1170.95. The District Attorney’s Office of San Diego opposed “on the grounds that the amendments effectuated by Senate Bill 1437 were unconstitutional.”
Appellate Attorney Michelle Peterson talks about the case and the law.
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