In what circumstances will a jury refuse to convict defendants of robbery-based first-degree murder?

intended to kill or were "major participants" in the crime who acted with "reckless indifference to human life." None of these findings were elements of felony murder. Thus, to the extent the jury believed the prosecution did not meet its burden to demonstrate that the aiders and abettors committed or attempted to commit robbery, it could have found the robbery-murder special-circumstance allegation false as to the aiders and abettors without giving the appearance that it was delivering an inconsistent verdict. This case is thus not meaningfully distinguishable from our prior decisions. (See, e.g., People v. Horning , supra , 34 Cal.4th at p. 906, 22 Cal.Rptr.3d 305, 102 P.3d 228.) Just as in a situation where the jury receives instructions on premeditated first degree murder and robbery-based felony murder, the jury here could have convicted defendants of first degree murder and refused to find the special circumstance true as to the aiders and abettors in a logically consistent manner.

[233 Cal.Rptr.3d 804]