California Supreme Court
People v. Gutierrez
May 5, 2014
Summary
The court construed Penal Code section 190.5(b) to give sentencing courts discretion to choose between life without parole and 25 years to life for 16- and 17-year-olds convicted of special circumstance murder, without a presumption favoring life without parole. It held that before imposing life without parole, the court must consider the offender's youth-related characteristics and their effect on the justifications for the harshest punishment. Because both defendants were sentenced under the prior presumptive interpretation and without the required guidance, the court remanded for resentencing.