(Court opinion corrected 10/1/19.) Defendant, age 17 at time of offense, was convicted, after bench trial, of 1st degree murder and sentenced to 40 years. No ineffective assistance of counsel in counsel's alleged failure to move to strike hearsay evidence, as court did not include this hearsay evidence as among its reasons for verdict, and whether to move to strike is a matter of trial strategy. Illinois Supreme Court has held that sentences of 40 years or less are not de facto life sentences. As Defendant's sentence was exactly 40 years, it is not a de facto life sentence. The three years of mandatory supervised release are not included in calculation of total number of years of "prison sentence" for purpose of eighth amendment analysis. Sentence does not shock the moral sense of the community, and does not violate proportionate penalties clause, as Defendant committed a premeditated, gandland-style execution. (McBRIDE and BURKE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Juvenile Sentencing