Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Juvenile Sentencing
Defendant, age 16 at time of offenses in 1999, was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder in shooting deaths of two persons, and sentenced to mandatory life in prison. Per Illinois Supreme Court's 2012 decision in Miller case, a defendant under age 18 cannot be automatically sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. It would be cruel and unusual to apply Miller only to new cases, and thus Miller should apply retroactively. (STEWART and WEXSTTEN, concurring.)