A Riverside Superior Court judge erred by denying Sherwood Don Jenkins’ petition to vacate his murder conviction without an argument, a three-judge panel from California’s Fourth Appellate District unanimously ruled Oct. 25.
Jenkins, 46, based his petition on California Penal Code Section 1170.95, according to the court ruling. The law, added in 2019 by SB 1437, reduced accomplice liability for murders, and allowed retroactive vacations of murder by accomplice convictions.
The crime
According to the ruling, in 1999, Jenkins kidnapped and transported Phillip Reeves to the location of his murder by Jenkins’ associate, Michael Conner. Jenkins encouraged Conner to murder Reeves,
