The Court of Appeal holds that PC 3051, which denies a youth offender parole hearing to youthful offenders sentenced to LWOP while granting one to youthful offenders sentenced to parole-eligible life terms, does not violate equal protection because “several rational bases [exist] for the unequal treatment.” The court further holds that appellant is not entitled to a Franklin hearing to preserve evidence of youth-related mitigating factors for other purposes, such as for a potential resentencing under PC 1172.1.
Note: The equal protection issue is currently pending in the California Supreme Court in People v. Hardin (S277497).