Opinion ID: 1442039
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 26

Heading: Failure to Find Premeditation and Deliberation

Text: The jury was instructed on a single theory of first degree murder  felony murder. (20) Defendant contends that the failure to require a finding that the murder was premeditated and deliberate denied him equal protection of the laws. Defendant's argument is premised on the theory that felony murder is less culpable than premeditated murder, i.e., that in California a defendant who commits felony murder during the course of certain felonies is eligible for capital punishment whereas a defendant who commits deliberate and premeditated murder, without more, is not. Defendant submits that such a scheme, whereby those with less criminal intent may nevertheless be punished more severely, is prohibited by the equal protection clauses of both the California and United States Constitutions. We rejected this argument in People v. Anderson (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1104 [240 Cal. Rptr. 585, 742 P.2d 1306], where in reconsidering the intent-to-kill requirement of Carlos v. Superior Court, supra, 35 Cal.3d 131, we stated: `[W]e are no longer of the opinion that the reading of section 190.2(a)(17) that we adopt today raises grave and doubtful constitutional questions under the Eighth Amendment and the equal protection clause by creating `a statutory classification which impose[s] a minimum penalty of death or imprisonment without parole upon persons who did not intend to kill, while permitting some deliberate killers to escape with a sentence of life with possibility of parole....' (35 Cal.3d at p. 148.) ( People v. Anderson, supra, 43 Cal.3d at pp. 1146-1147.) We further stated: It also appears to be generally accepted that a death penalty law that makes the felony murderer but not the simple murderer death-eligible does not violate the equal protection clause. ( Id. at p. 1147.) Defendant's argument also fails because the jury here found, in accordance with the then requirement of Carlos, that with respect to the burglary and robbery special circumstances defendant intended to kill Mrs. Vasquez.