People v. Smith

Defendants Smith and Allen, inmates of Folsom prison, were charged with having assaulted Willard Borton, another inmate, in violation of Penal Code section 4500, which makes it a crime punishable with death for a person undergoing a life sentence to assault another with a deadly weapon. In a second count, defendants were charged with having murdered Borton. They were convicted on both counts and were separately sentenced to suffer the death penalty for each offense. The appeal is automatic under section 1239(b) of the Penal Code.

At the time Borton was killed, Smith was serving a life sentence…