FMEP Celebrates the Resentencing of Cedric Struggs in Kern County

The Felony Murder Elimination Project celebrates the resentencing of Cedric Struggs in Kern County for a 1980 felony murder conviction. Via granting his petition for resentencing, presiding judge Gregory A. Pulskamp adhered to recent changes in case law concerning felony murder convictions and identified a basic tenet of our criminal justice system; a person who didn’t commit murder shouldn’t be charged with it, and antiquated felony murder laws allow overzealous prosecutors to do just that.

Cedric Struggs, 60, has been in prison since he was 18 following a gas station robbery that resulted in the death of a man. Struggs was not the one to kill him, but under California's felony murder rule, Struggs was convicted of murder in 1980. California Senate Bill 1437, effective in 2020, now requires a defendant to have committed the killing or had the intent to kill, aided or abetted the actual killer, be a major participant in the crime, and/or act with reckless indifference to human life.

Deputy Public Defender Cynda L. Bunton said Deputy District Attorney Michael Caves failed to prove her client was a “major participant” and “acted with reckless indifference to human life.” Caves conceded Struggs was not the killer.

“My client was a follower and not a leader,” Bunton noted. “He tended to want to fit in and so went along with an older individual … to participate in a robbery. There’s no evidence that my client acted with intent to kill,” Bunton argued. “Period.”

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By: Breanna Polk, 23ABC , Amy Pachla, 23ABC
Posted at 9:15 PM, Jan 05, 2023 and last updated 11:18 PM, Jan 05, 2023

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Cedric Struggs has been in jail for more than 40 years. He was originally sentenced under a now-defunct California law. On Thursday, he returned to a Kern County courtroom to petition for his freedom.

60-year-old Struggs has been in prison since 1981 following a gas station robbery that resulted in the shooting death of a man. Struggs did not fire the gun, but under the then-valid California "felony murder rule," he was sentenced with the same crime - first degree murder - as the person who did. Struggs was 18-years-old at the time of his conviction.

The rule was amended through Senate Bill 1437, enacted in 2019. Now, a person can only be found guilty of felony murder under certain circumstances.

With the felony murder rule off the table, Struggs and his family have petitioned for his release from jail while he awaits resentencing under current California law.

Doris Shotwell, Struggs' mother, says she's feeling a sense of relief.

"I am so happy, still happy that he's going to be getting out, and we're going to pray that he's not going to be returning back to prison. Continue to pray. Don't stop praying. Just continue to pray until he's free," said Shotwell. "I know he will be, but just pray for him that the Lord will just bless him, encourage him, and don't let him get down."

The judge hearing Struggs' petition announced on Thursday that a resentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 2, 2023.

Following the judge's announcement, Struggs' attorney Cynda L. Bunton requested that Struggs not receive probation, as he had already outserved the length of time for other charges he has received.

In response to Bunton's request, county prosecutor Joseph Kinzel argued that Struggs' sentence must be replaced with a conviction that is appropriate to the crimes Struggs did commit. Bunton replied that no charge would fit.

The judge denied Kinzel's request, saying it's not quite so simple before explaining that he was not aware of Struggs' custody status and could not rule on anything aside from the murder conviction.

Shotwell, meanwhile, is making plans for the day her son comes home after 42 years in prison.

"He's going to get a hug and I'm going to have his luxury car here to take him away," said Shotwell. "I kept the faith."

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