People v. Webster

This case presents question as to whether trial court properly sentenced defendant to 40-year term of incarceration, under circumstances where defendant was 17-years old at time of he committed first-degree murder. Appellate Court rejected defendant’s 8th Amendment claim after noting that his 40-year sentence was not de facto life sentence. However, Appellate Court vacated instant sentence and remanded matter back to trial court, where, according to Appellate court, trial court did not intend to impose sentence that was one day short of de facto life sentence after finding that defendant had rehabilitative potential. In its petition for leave to appeal, State argued that Appellate Court could not use Rule 366(a) to reverse trial court’s sentence, that reasoning for Appellate Court’s reversal of sentence is no longer valid under Jones, 141 S.Ct. 1307, and that Appellate Court’s decision conflicts with other cases where 40-year sentences have been affirmed for juvenile offenders (Partial dissent filed.)