Defendant was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison to run consecutively with a 30-year sentence for the attempt. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal and defendant filed a post-conviction petition challenging his life sentence. The trial court resentenced defendant to two concurrent terms of 54 years for first-degree murder and a consecutive sentence of six years for attempt. In prior appellate proceedings, the Supreme Court instructed the appellate court to re-consider its opinion in light of Dorsey. The appellate court concluded that defendant’s sentence was not a de facto life sentence because he was entitled to day-for-day credit. However, the court further found that the trial court abused its discretion by minimizing the evidence explaining the impact of defendant’s youth and circumstances and reversed and remanded so that the trial court could re-weigh this evidence. (WAKER and JOHNSON, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing