People v. Thompson

Defendant, at 19 at time of offense, was convicted of first-degree murder of his father and a woman who was drinking alcohol with his father. Defendant filed Section 2-1401 petition 17 years after his conviction, alleging that circuit court violated his right to due process by failing to appoint capital-qualified attorneys, rendering his convictions void, and alleged ineffective assistance of counsel.  A criminal defendant may not raise an as-applied constitutional challenge to his mandatory natural life sentence for the first time on appeal from circuit court's dismissal of a petition for relief from final judgment under Section 2-1401 of Code of Civil Procedure. (GARMAN, FREEMAN, THOMAS, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)