BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A man who was imprisoned for 42 years under a now-defunct California law had his release petition granted in court.
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, however, was not the one to kill him. Under the felony murder rule, a state law that was amended through Senate Bill 1437 in 2019, Struggs was convicted of murder. Since the law is defunct, Struggs and his family petitioned for his release. Now, that petition has been granted.
Judge Gregory A. Pulskamp announced his decision on Struggs' petition in Department 8 of the Kern County Superior Court on Thurs, Jan 5. Though his decision came in the form of a 20-page-long written statement available as a public document, Pulskamp clarified that Struggs' petition had been granted, saying that it has become clear that the court cannot establish without a reasonable doubt that Struggs committed murder.
Judge Pulskamp announced that there would be a resentencing hearing for Struggs on Thurs, Feb 2.
Following the announcement of a resentencing hearing, Struggs' defense attorney, Cynda L. Bunton, requested for Struggs to not receive probation, as he had already outserved the length of time for other charges he received. Prosecutor Joseph Kinzel
argued that Struggs' sentence must be replaced with a conviction that was appropriate for the crimes Struggs did commit. Bunton then argued that no charge was fitting.
"The only appropriate conviction would be robbery, which my client has already been charged [with]," said Bunton.
Judge Pulskamp, however, denied the defense's request, saying "it's just not quite that simple" before explaining that he was not aware of Struggs' custody status and could not rule on anything aside from the murder conviction.
"This ruling sets aside the murder conviction," said Pulskamp. "That's it."
The court was then released.
