Скачать или смотреть Despite change in law, California man remains in prison

In October, 23ABC first brought you the story of Doris Shotwell and her son Cedric Struggs, a man who has been in jail for more than 40 years on a felony murder conviction.

According to court documents, Cedric Struggs and two other men robbed a Hudson Oil gas station that used to stand near the corner of Union Avenue and Brundage Lane in Bakersfield. As they left, one of the men fired a gun and killed someone, but court documents are clear that the shooter was not Struggs.

At the time, California law dictated that anyone involved with committing a crime where another person was killed could be charged with the same thing as the person who directly caused the death: felony murder. Under that law, Cedric Struggs was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery back in 1981.

Under California Senate Bill 1437, enacted in 2019, the law was changed to narrow down the circumstances under which a person can be charged with felony murder, including that they must have actually been the one to have caused the death.

After this change in the law, Shotwell expresses frustration as to why her son is still in jail.

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