(FOX40.COM) –– Marysville native Leon Lampkin Jr. was founded guilty of being an accessory to a double murder in 1998 and sentenced to 2 life terms in jail, but on Sept. 8, that judgment may be thrown out pending results of a resentencing hearing in Yuba County.

" He must have never ever been founded guilty in the first location," Lampkin's sis Bertha Felix told FOX40.com.

In 1999, a Yuba County jury founded guilty Lampkin of the first-degree murders of siblings Alejandro and Leoncio Jimenez, attempted robbery and possession of a short-barrel shotgun, according to casetext.com. The jury determined that Lampkin was an accessory to murder but not the person who fired the deadly gunshots.

Leon Lampkin was founded guilty of being a device to a double murder when he was 22 years old/Courtesy Photo: Bertha Felix

Official records show that throughout Lampkin's hearing, the high court advised the jury on felony murder, mentioning that the law did not need that a defendant was the actual killer or acted with intent to eliminate. Under California law at the time, an individual could be founded guilty of first-degree murder if it happened while an offender was engaged in or an accomplice in the commission or tried commission of burglary.

However, in 2018, previous guv Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1437 (SB 1437), which changed the state's murder law by limiting who can be prosecuted for murder and felony murder. According to SB 1437, a person who was a device to murder might not be founded guilty in the first degree. The law was likewise used retroactively to those already founded guilty, including Lampkin.

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Prior to SB 1437, Lampkin tried to appeal his sentencing twice but was denied, according to records. After almost 25 years of incarceration, Lampkin will get another possibility to plead his case before a judge.

" I'm not delighted with how the courts first handled the case, but I need to focus on what's occurring now," Felix stated. "He served 25 years. He did his time. He's been locked up almost his whole life. Based on the laws we have now he needs to be out. If he were to get convicted for the exact same thing today he would not get 25 years."

Leon Lampkin Jr. has been behind bars for almost 25 years/Courtesy picture: Bertha Felix

Felix emphasized that Lampkin was convicted of being associated with the break-in, however not shooting a weapon.

The individual convicted of firing the gun that killed the Jimenez brothers is Marysville native Michael Owens. Court records reveal that on the night of the murders, Owens was discovered by police near the scene of the criminal activity with gunshot injuries from a shoot-out that took place throughout the robbery.

" They (Owens and Lampkin) went to the residence to dedicate a break-in. A gunfight emerged during the tried robbery," Yuba County District Attorney Clinton Curry told FOX40.com. "Leoncio or Alejandro managed to strike Owens three times prior to dying from their injuries."

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Curry said the previous defendants knew what they were entering.

" Lampkin and Owens both armed themselves with firearms and snuck up to the house of known drug dealerships," Curry said. "Committing an armed home-invasion robbery at night upon known drug dealerships has to do with as unsafe a crime as you can devote. Lampkin and Owens devoted the criminal offense with total indifference to whether the targets of the robbery lived or died."

Lampkin was not located at the crime scene. However, court records state his DNA was discovered and used to connect him to the criminal offense.

Owens was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. Over the last 25 years, he has preserved his innocence. He denied being the person who shot the 2 brothers, however he never stated who did. On Sept. 8 that may alter.

" We do plan to call Owens as a witness in Lampkin's case to try to help complete some of the details of precisely how Lampkin took part in the burglary and murders," Clinton said. "This is details that wasn't readily available to us during the trial."

Clinton validated that in a request for clemency letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, Owens mentioned that Lampkin was the one who shot and killed the Jimenez bros. Owens asked for that his sentence be travelled from life without parole to life with the possibility of parole.

" I hate that they're trying to pin them (Owens and Lampkin) against each other," Felix stated. "This isn't a retrial. This is a resentencing based on new laws, however the DA keeps trying to find loopholes to not launch my sibling."

Felix stated she understood Owens and his household and that she keeps Owens in her prayers. She said she would never want to paint Owens in a bad light and thinks that they both have actually served sufficient time.

" Laws at the time were made to keep minorities, Blacks and Latinos in prison for longer. They frequently weren't given reasonable trials," Felix stated. "I'm not one to constantly speak about race. I have more conservative views however let's be honest, Yuba County back then was very inequitable. I went to school there with KKK members. This new law fixes that," Felix said.

The district attorney is strongly opposed to the release of Lampkin. Curry said the brand-new law is advantageous in many cases, but in Lampkin's, it isn't.

" At this point, we have zero belief that Lampkin would be safe if released back into the neighborhood," Curry stated. "When Lampkin dedicated the burglary in this case in 1998, it was known that he had actually committed another armed robbery and that he was a suspect in a 1994 murder dedicated in Sacramento. We understand he was an incredibly dangerous person. We are not aware of any efforts Lampkin has actually made to rehabilitate himself."

Felix disagreed.

" The criminal activity happened when he remained in his youth. He was 22 then and now he's near 50, Felix stated. "I understand the stats of individuals who reoffend however those are primarily people who do not have assistance. Leon has an established family who is willing to hire him as an employee and supply him with a location to live. I'm ready to take duty and risk my profession for him. We have the resources to help incorporate him back into society."

Lampkin served part of his time in Northern California prior to being transferred to a facility in Wyoming- making it harder for his family to check out, according to Felix. She included that if her sibling is launched he will not be "anywhere near Yuba County."

A resentencing hearing is set up at 9 a.m. at Yuba County Superior Court, 215 5th Str., Marysville.