California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Figueroa, D068143 (Cal. App. 2016):
12. The jury was also instructed that it could find defendant guilty of first degree murder if it found the murder was committed by torture or by lying in wait. ( 189 ["All murder which is perpetrated by means of . . . lying in wait, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing . . . is murder of the first degree."].) Provocation is irrelevant to these theories. (See People v. Battle (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 50, 75 ["if the jury found murder by lying in wait, provocation was irrelevant because the murder could not be reduced to second degree murder"]; People v. Seaton (2001) 26 Cal.4th 598, 665 [killing in commission of felonies enumerated in 189 constitutes first degree murder even if killer acted in imperfect self-defense].)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.