February 12, 2021
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese spoke to reporters at the County Government Building Friday. File photo.
California’s felony murder law allows judges to send convicts to prison for life and sentence them to death even when that person is not directly responsible for the death of another. Sen. Dave Cortese wants to end that practice, and give thousands of inmates charged under the law a chance to apply for a new sentence, with a bill he introduced this week.
Defendants can be charged with felony murder when someone dies, even accidentally, during the commission of a felony like a robbery or burglary. It applies to the person whose actions caused the death and to accomplices individuals who, while involved in the crime, did not kill anyone and did not intend for anyone to die, Cortese said.