THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE:PRENTISS BANKS

FREEDOM FOR APRENTISS

**34 Years Lost: The Fight for Justice After a Felony Murder Conviction**
By [Bryck Head]

In 1991, at just 18 years old, Prentiss Banks found himself ensnared in a legal nightmare that would consume a staggering 34 years of his life. Convicted of first-degree felony murder under the special circumstance of murder during a robbery, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As he enters his fifties, both of his parents and grandparents have passed away, leaving him to navigate the complexities of injustice alone—all while he continues to assert his innocence in a crime he argues he did not commit.

**A Life Unmarred Until 1991**
Prentiss Banks's life before that fateful year was characterized by a lack of criminal history and a series of personal challenges. Born in the quiet, unassuming city of Mead Valley, California, he was not a troubled youth; rather, he faced obstacles such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which often placed him in special education environments. This single case represents the only blemish on an otherwise law-abiding life, making the enormity of his conviction shocking to friends and family who knew him.

**A Verdict Plagued by Doubt**
The circumstances surrounding Prentiss Banks's conviction are rife with ambiguity and uncertainty. During the trial, evidence presented against him painted a confusing and incomplete picture. While the victim tragically succumbed to a gunshot wound, the jury made a crucial determination: they did not find that Prentiss Banks personally used a firearm during the incident. This detail is significant; the jury was split, with an 11-to-1 vote that left the firearm allegation unresolved, an aspect that is frequently overlooked. Furthermore, no eyewitnesses definitively identified Prentiss as the shooter, a stark absence that constitutes a foundational element of his persistent claim of innocence.

**The Murky Waters of Felony Murder**
Felony murder laws can lead to convictions even when the convicted is not the actual perpetrator of the act of killing, as long as the death occurs during the commission of another felony. Prentiss Banks's case is particularly complex. During his original appeal, the Court of Appeal recognized that the trial court had failed to instruct the jury on the concept of aiding and abetting as it pertains to murder liability. Although this error was characterized as "harmless" at the time, it has since acquired significant weight in the context of his ongoing fight for exoneration. If the jury was not adequately informed about alternative theories of culpability, how can the integrity of their original verdict regarding his involvement in the murder be considered reliable?

**A Decades-Long Battle for Resentencing**
What began as years turned into decades of imprisonment. Prentiss Banks, now in his early 50s, has watched the world outside his prison walls evolve without him. However, in 2020, he fought back against the constraints of his unjust situation by filing a resentencing petition under California's section 1170.95—a legal avenue established to address specific types of wrongful felony murder convictions. This petition was a pivotal moment for Prentiss, allowing him the chance to argue that he wasn't the actual killer and, therefore, should be either resentenced or released.

To his dismay, the trial court dismissed his petition at the "prima facie" stage without even issuing an order to show cause, asserting that there was "substantial evidence" of Prentiss's culpability. This claim clashes sharply with the original jury's findings, particularly regarding the question of firearm use and the absence of witness identification. The court further relied on the appellate court's "harmless error" finding, suggesting that because the failure to provide aiding and abetting instructions was deemed harmless, Prentiss could not later claim he was not the killer. This troubling interpretation raises fundamental questions about the standards of evidence required to prove innocence in cases fraught with such ambiguity.

**The Unseen Toll: 34 Years and Countless Losses....

Beyond the intricate legal debates lies a profound human cost, one that stretches far beyond the confines of prison walls. For 34 long years, Prentiss Banks's life has been unjustly stripped away. His years of confinement have not been marked by personal achievements or milestones, but by heartbreaking losses, including the deaths of both his parents and grandparents during his incarceration. These are the silent tragedies of wrongful convictions—the missed birthdays, unexpressed goodbyes, and irreplaceable voids left in families forever altered by judicial errors.

Despite the overwhelming weight of injustice, Prentiss Banks has resolved to use his time in prison productively. He earned his High School Equivalency Certificate in 1997 and actively pursued various educational and self-improvement courses, including but not limited to:
- The Believers New Life Correspondence Course "Open Bible Club" Diploma (2023)
- Universal Life Church Ministries "Credentials of Ministry" (2023)
- Certificates of Achievement in numerous areas, such as:
- Victim Awareness
- Victim Impact Curriculum
- Stress Management
- Anger Management
- Job Success
- Your Career Planning Guide for Release into the Community
- From Jail to a Job
- Cellphone Use in Prison

In addition to his educational pursuits, Prentiss is an active member of FUEL ("Families United to End LWOP") and has made meaningful charitable contributions, including donations to the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County for immigration defense initiatives aimed at unaccompanied minors and to Human Rights Watch to support the 2020 Cares for Youth Holiday Project. He has also taken on the role of an advocate for incarcerated youth, dedicating his voice to those who find themselves in similar predicaments, striving to shed light on the injustices that plague the justice system.