Does section 654 of the California Criminal Code allow multiple punishment for assault where the assault is so extreme and gratuitous that it goes far beyond what is needed to accomplish the assault?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Mitchell, 208 Cal.Rptr.3d 606, 4 Cal.App.5th 349 (Cal. App. 2016):
Relying on People v. Cleveland (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 263, 104 Cal.Rptr.2d 641, the Attorney General argues that section 654 permits multiple punishment where the assault is so extreme and gratuitous that it goes far beyond what was needed to accomplish the robbery. There, the defendant beat a 66yearold feeble victim unconscious with a two-by-four piece of wood and took his Walkman radio. (Id. , at p. 267, 104 Cal.Rptr.2d 641.) Cleveland beat [the victim] senseless, such that the attempted murder cannot be viewed as merely incidental to the robbery. (Id. , at p. 272, 104 Cal.Rptr.2d 641.) This is not the case here. Here there was no extreme and gratuitous violence.
The Attorney General's reliance upon
[208 Cal.Rptr.3d 610]
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