Under California law, a person found guilty of murder in the first degree can be punished by death, imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole, or imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 25 years to life. However, if the jury finds that the murder was committed under special circumstances, the only penalty is death or life without the possibility of parole. The California Penal Code lists the special circumstances that must be considered by the jury:



•Intentionally killed victim "because of the victim's disability, gender, or sexual orientation or because of the defendant's perception of the victim's disability, gender, or sexual orientation"

•Defendant previously served a prison sentence for first or second degree murder

•Prior criminal activity with or without a conviction, unless the defendant was actually acquitted at trial

•Prior felony convictions

•The murder was intentional and carried out for financial gain

•The defendant was convicted previously of murder in the first or second degree

•The defendant, in this proceeding, has been convicted of more than one offense of murder in the first or second degree

•The murder was committed by means of a destructive device, bomb, or explosive planted, hidden, or concealed in any place, area, dwelling, building, or structure, and the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that his or her act or acts would create a great risk of death to one or more human beings

•The murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, or perfecting or attempting to perfect, an escape from lawful custody

•The murder was committed by means of a destructive device, bomb, or explosive that the defendant mailed or delivered, attempted to mail or deliver, or caused to be mailed or delivered, and the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that his or her act or acts would create a great risk of death to one or more human beings

•The victim was one of the following and was intentionally killed for actions taken while on duty:

opeace officer

oformer peace officer

ofederal law enforcement officer or agent

ofirefighter

owitness to a crime who was intentionally killed for the purpose of preventing his or her testimony in any criminal or juvenile proceeding, and the killing was not committed during the commission or attempted commission, of the crime to which he or she was a witness; or the victim was a witness to a crime and was intentionally killed in retaliation for his or her testimony in any criminal or juvenile proceeding

oprosecutor or assistant prosecutor or a former prosecutor or assistant prosecutor of any local or state prosecutor's office in this or any other state, or of a federal prosecutor's office

ojudge or former judge of any court of record in the local, state, or federal system in this or any other state

ojuror in any court of record in the local, state, or federal system in this or any other state

ooperator or driver of a bus, taxicab, streetcar, cable car, trackless trolley, or other motor vehicle operated on land, including a vehicle operated on stationary rails or on a track or rail suspended in the air, used for the transportation of persons for hire, or the victim was a station agent or ticket agent for the entity providing such transportation, who, while engaged in the course of the performance of his or her duties was intentionally killed

•The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity. As used in this section, the phrase "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity" means a conscienceless or pitiless crime that is unnecessarily torturous to the victim

•The murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in, or was an accomplice in, the commission of, attempted commission of, or the immediate flight after committing, or attempting to commit, the following felonies:

oRobbery in violation of Section 211 or 212.5

oKidnapping in violation of Section 207, 209, or 209.5

oRape in violation of Section 261

oSodomy in violation of Section 286

oThe performance of a lewd or lascivious act upon the person of a child under the age of 14 years in violation of Section 288

oOral copulation in violation of Section 288a

oBurglary in the first or second degree in violation of Section

460

oArson in violation of subdivision (b) of Section 451

oTrain wrecking in violation of Section 219

oMayhem in violation of Section 203

oRape by instrument in violation of Section 289

oCarjacking, as defined in Section 215

•The murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture

•The defendant intentionally killed the victim by the

administration of poison

•The murder was intentional and perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person or persons outside the vehicle with the intent to inflict death

•The defendant intentionally killed the victim while the defendant was an active participant in a criminal street gang and the murder was carried out to further the activities of the criminal street gang

Juvenile Offenders

There are different rules for those perpetrators who were under the age of 18 at the time the offense was committed, and are found guilty of first degree murder, with a finding of special circumstances. If at the time of the commission of the crime the perpetrator was 16 years or older, but under the age of 18, their punishment shall not be the death penalty, but rather confinement of 25 years to life in the state prison.