(Court opinion corrected 4/15/21.) Defendant, age 17 at time of offense, was convicted, after jury trial, of 1st degree murder of his friend's parents, and sentenced to 2 concurrent terms of natural life imprisonment. Defendant was not handcuffed, booked, fingerprinted, or photographed at any point during his encounters with police. No indicia of formal arrest exists, and his trip to police station was not demonstrative of custody. Another man was an eyewitness to and participant in the murders, and pled guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in exchange for his testimony as to details of the murder and coverup, including Defendant's role in the conspiracy. Court engaged in an adequate and exhaustive review and consideration of Defendant's youth and its attendant circumstances, statutory factors applicable to juveniles, and voluminous information in mitigation. Court found that Defendant's conduct showed irretrievable depravity, permanent incorrigibility, or irreparable corruption beyond rehabilitation. (PIERCE, concurring; WALKER, specially concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Juvenile Sentencing