What Is the Sentence for Second-Degree Murder in San Francisco?
The selected San Francisco court records report 15 years to life for the second-degree-murder count in each case. The first defendant is David Chatman, not Alvin Chatman. Chatman also had a separate four-year consecutive firearm enhancement; Herrera’s firearm enhancements and other terms were stayed, apart from a concurrent one-year resisting term. These are selected imposed count terms, not a citywide average or an actual-release prediction.
Start at the San Francisco sentence hub. Read our methodology and editorial standards.
What Second-Degree Murder Means
California Penal Code sections 187 and 189 distinguish murder from lesser homicide offenses and divide murder into degrees. Second-degree murder is murder that is not classified as first degree under the governing law.
Statutory Sentence
California Penal Code section 190 generally provides 15 years to life for second-degree murder, while specified victim, prior-conviction, and other circumstances can change the minimum term. Firearm enhancements and separate counts are not part of the ordinary target-offense term. The governing law depends on the conduct date and proven findings. This statutory framework is separate from the selected observed outcomes.
Observed San Francisco Outcomes
| Reported prosecution | Source-reported location, disposition and sentence scope |
|---|---|
| Cluster 1 | David Chatman: the court opinion places the January 13, 1991 shooting in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point neighborhood. Jury conviction for second-degree murder; 15 years to life for murder plus a separate four-year consecutive firearm-use enhancement. The 1996 Supreme Court decision reversed the conspiracy conviction but affirmed the judgment in other respects; the reversed conspiracy term is not a second murder outcome. |
| Cluster 2 | Omar Herrera: March 18, 2020 shooting on 21st Street between Shotwell Street and South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco’s Mission District. The trial court reduced the first-degree jury verdict to second-degree murder and imposed 15 years to life. A one-year resisting term was concurrent; firearm enhancements and remaining terms were stayed. Judgment affirmed May 22, 2024. |
Case Sources
Cluster 1 source is the linked court record for the reported conduct, disposition and sentence scope. Cluster 2 source is a court-opinion copy for the other reported prosecution and sentence scope.
Methodology and Limits
Each named prosecution is counted once; codefendants, appeals, joined causes and multiple convictions are not automatically additional qualifying San Francisco murder cases. Relevant sentencing and offense-location passages were read September 28, 2026. Court descriptions support the reported locations, but independent municipal-point corroboration and exhaustive subsequent-docket review are incomplete. An affirmed decision is not a claim that all appeals are exhausted. Separate enhancements, stayed terms and multi-offense totals retain their own scope.
Official Law
Limit: Two selected public-reporting clusters cannot establish a typical result. This page provides general information, not legal advice.