People v. Grant

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault, and sentenced to 14 years. Section 116-4 of Code of Criminal Procedure is mandatory; it mandates that a law enforcement agency securely retain any forensic evidence in the case, and mandates that it must be retained until the defendant has completed his sentence, including the period of mandatory supervised release (MSR). State's 2007 destruction of all forensic evidence in this case was in violation of section 116-4 of the Code. State's failure to comply must result in vacatur of a defendant's conviction. (McDADE, concurring; SCHMIDT, dissenting.)