California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Perez, 135 Cal.App.3d 406, 185 Cal.Rptr. 375 (Cal. App. 1982):
We do not construe section 190.2, subdivision (b) as requiring proof that a defendant harbored an intent to kill while aiding and abetting another in the commission of murder in the first degree. To do so would be in abrogation of the rules of statutory construction. " 'We are required to give effect to statutes "according to the usual, ordinary import of the language employed in framing them." [Citations.] "If possible, significance should be given to every word, phrase, sentence and part of an act in pursuance of the legislative purpose." [Citation]; ... "When used in a statute [words] must be construed in context, keeping in mind the nature and obvious purpose of the statute where they appear." [Citations.] Moreover, the various parts of the statutory enactment must be harmonized by considering the particular clause or section in the context of the statutory framework as a whole. [Citations.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Alderson [1978] 86 Cal.App.3d 274, 280, 150 Cal.Rptr. 189.)
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