A judge has granted a resentencing for Charles Andrew "Andy" Williams, the 2001 Santana High School teenage shooter originally ordered to serve a 50-year-to-life prison term for killing two students and wounding more than a dozen other victims at the Santee campus.
The decision — officially called a "recall" of the original sentence — means Williams' case will be transferred to juvenile court, since he was 15 years old at the time of the March 5, 2001 shooting that killed 14-year-old Bryan Zuckor and 17-year-old Randy Gordon. Eleven other students and two school staff members were also wounded.
Though the San Diego County District Attorney's Office indicated it would appeal Tuesday's decision from Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez, should the case remain in juvenile court for a re-sentencing, Williams, now 39, would be expected to be released from prison and face a new sentence that includes no further custody and two years of juvenile probation.
In a statement released after Tuesday's court hearing to consider Williams' petition to recall the sentence, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, "As prosecutors, our duty is to ensure justice for victims and protect public safety, and the defendant's cruel actions in this case continue to warrant the 50-years-to-life sentence that was imposed. We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and will continue our legal fight in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court if need be."
Tuesday's decision rested on whether Williams was eligible for re-sentencing under a law that offers relief for juvenile defendants who have served at least 15 years of a life without parole sentence.
Deputy District Attorney Nicole Roth argued that because Williams was not sentenced to a term of life without the possibility of parole, he could not benefit from such relief. The prosecutor cited remarks from the judge who originally sentenced Williams, who Roth said opted to sentence Williams to 50 years to life so that he would have some possibility of parole, because Williams originally faced the potential of centuries behind bars.