People v. R.G. (In re R.G.)

*144"Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being ... with malice aforethought." ( Pen. Code,1 § 187, subd. (a).) Under prior California law, a defendant who aided and abetted a crime, the natural and probable consequence of which was murder, could be convicted not only of the target crime but also of the resulting murder. ( People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155, 161, 172 Cal.Rptr.3d 438, 325 P.3d 972.) This was true irrespective of whether the defendant harbored malice aforethought. Liability was imposed " 'for the criminal harms [the defendant] ... naturally, probably, and foreseeably put in…