Cal Pen Code § 664 (2004)
§ 664. Punishment for unsuccessful attempt to commit crime; Attempted
murder of peace officer or fire fighter
Every person who attempts to commit any crime, but fails, or is
prevented or intercepted in its perpetration, shall be punished where no
provision is made by law for the punishment of those attempts, as follows:
(a) If the crime attempted is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison, the person guilty of the attempt shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for one-half the term of imprisonment
prescribed upon a conviction of the offense attempted. However, if the crime
attempted is willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder, as defined in
Section 189, the person guilty of that attempt shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. If
the crime attempted is any other one in which the maximum sentence is life
imprisonment or death, the person guilty of the attempt shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for five, seven, or nine years. The additional
term provided in this section for attempted willful, deliberate, and
premeditated murder shall not be imposed unless the fact that the attempted
murder was willful, deliberate, and premeditated is charged in the accusatory
pleading and admitted or found to be true by the trier of fact.
(b) If the crime attempted is punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail, the person guilty of the attempt shall be punished by imprisonment
in a county jail for a term not exceeding one-half the term of imprisonment
prescribed upon a conviction of the offense attempted.
(c) If the offense so attempted is punishable by a fine, the
offender convicted of that attempt shall be punished by a fine not exceeding
one-half the largest fine which may be imposed upon a conviction of the offense
attempted.
(d) If a crime is divided into degrees, an attempt to commit
the crime may be of any of those degrees, and the punishment for the attempt
shall be determined as provided by this section.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if attempted murder is
committed upon a peace officer or firefighter, as those terms are defined in
paragraphs (7) and (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 190.2, and the person who
commits the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is such a
peace officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
the person guilty of the attempt shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for life with the possibility of parole.
This subdivision shall apply if it is proven that a direct
but ineffectual act was committed by one person toward killing another human
being and the person committing the act harbored express malice aforethought,
namely, a specific intent to unlawfully kill another human being. The
Legislature finds and declares that this paragraph is declaratory of existing
law.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the elements of
subdivision (e) are proven in an attempted murder and it is also proven that
the attempted murder was willful, deliberate, premeditated, and admitted or
found to be true by the trier of fact, the person guilty of the attempt shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life. Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 2930) of Chapter 7 of Title 1 of Part 3 shall not
apply to reduce this minimum term of 15 years in state prison, and the person
shall not be released prior to serving 15 years' confinement.