California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Zavala, B298290 (Cal. App. 2020):
Third, defendant is not similarly situated to the defendant who committed a murder without using a firearm because defendant used a firearm. Section 12022.53 authorizes " ' "substantially longer prison sentences" ' " for " ' "felons who use firearms in the commission of their crimes." ' " (People v. Palacios (2007) 41 Cal.4th 720, 725.) In addition, to using a firearm, defendant also committed the offense for the benefit of his criminal street gang. In sum, defendant fails to demonstrate that his resentence punished him more severely than a more serious crime; he simply offers an inapt analogy.
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