What Crime Takes Place When A Prisoner with a Life Sentence Attacks Someone? (PC 4500)

There are numerous assault statutes in California. These include:

Penal Code Section 240: Assault
Penal Code Section 242: Battery
Penal Code Section 243: Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury
Penal Code Section 245: Assault with a Deadly Weapon

But what about an assault by a person who is sentenced to life in prison. Penal Code Section 4500 addresses that situation. It is titled “Assault by Life Prisoner with a Deadly Weapon”.

The section applies only to a person undergoing a life sentence. If that person with “malice aforethought” meaning a clear intent to harm someone, commits an assault using a deadly weapon or instrument and the attack was likely to produce great bodily they can be sentenced to death. Alternatively a life sentence which had the possibility of parole can be worsened as a conviction of a PC 4500 offense can result in life sentence with no possibility of parole.

There cannot be death unless the victim actually dies within a year and one day of the attack.

Daniel Horowitz has taken 7 death penalty cases to jury trial.  He has taken over 30 murder cases to trial as well.