California mother who tortured, murdered son wants conviction tossed

Pearl Fernandez, the Los Angeles County mother convicted of torturing and murdering her 8-year-old son Gabriel Fernandez, has filed a petition for a new hearing in her case.   

In her petition, Fernandez argued that she could not be convicted of first-degree or second-degree murder because of recent changes to California’s Penal Code 1170.95. Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami has assailed the changes, saying that they embolden "murderers of children to apply to be re-sentenced."