Is Section 654 of the Criminal Code applicable to crimes of violence against multiple victims?

Section 654 does not apply to crimes of violence against multiple victims. (People v. Oates (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1048, 1063 (Oates).) Section 654 aims to match punishment with culpability. A defendant who chooses a means of murder that places a group in danger is properly subject to greater punishment than a defendant who chooses a means that harms only a single person. (Ibid. ["For example, a defendant who chooses a means of murder that places a planeload of passengers in danger . . . is properly subject to greater punishment than a defendant who chooses a means that harms only a single person."].)