A judge Tuesday 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 resentencing, 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 resentencing 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.
Williams' attorney, Laura Sheppard, argued that recent case law has indicated prison terms of 50-years-to-life are the "functional equivalent" of a life without parole sentence.
“This ruling doesn't change the fact that he has suffered extreme consequences for his actions. He has spent 25 years — most of it in adult prison. No one is saying he gets a free pass. We are saying he's redeemable,” she told KPBS on Wednesday.
She also argued the law offered disproportionate benefits to offenders serving life without parole terms, while those with the possibility of parole like Williams could not be considered.
“I know it's not easy, I know his crime hurt a lot of people 25 years ago, but the law has changed in California such that a 14 or 15-year-old can't even be prosecuted as an adult,” Sheppard said.
Rodriguez agreed with the defense and cited appellate court rulings that found a 50-year-to-life prison term was equivalent to a life without parole sentence for a 15-year-old, because such lengthy prison terms don't allow defendants to become meaningful members of society as the law envisioned.
She also found there was no rational basis to offer more leniency to young defendants serving life without parole sentences than to defendants such as Williams.
Williams, who viewed the hearing remotely from prison, broke down in tears when the decision was rendered.
He did not make any statements during the hearing, but Sheppard said afterward that he was "grateful" for the decision.
Sheppard said during the hearing that Williams has shown continued remorse for his actions and authored apology letters to each of the victims and their families. She said he's since taken steps to rehabilitate himself, which include working as a certified drug and alcohol counselor and assisting the FBI in efforts to understand school violence.
Williams is now due before a San Diego County juvenile court judge next month for a status conference, during which a resentencing hearing date might be set.
Williams was previously found unsuitable for release in 2024 by the state parole board, which found that he was still a public safety risk and lacked insight into the reasons why he committed the shooting.
At the time of the parole hearing, Williams issued a statement through his attorney that called the shooting "violent and inexcusable."
His statement continued, "I had no right to barge into the lives of my victims, to blame them for my own suffering and the callous choices I made. I had no right to cause the loss of life, pain, terror, confusion, fear, trauma, and financial burden that I caused. I am sorry for the physical scars and for the psychological scars I created, and for the lives and families that I ripped a hole in. It is my intention to live a life of service and amends, to honor those I killed and those I harmed, and to put proof behind my words of remorse. I wish so badly that I could undo all the hurt and terror I put you through. With the deepest remorse, I am forever sorry."
