Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder and while awaiting trial he was found guilty in an unrelated case of both first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 78 years in prison. Defendant was then found guilty on the initial case and the trial court found that because of defendant’s prior murder conviction, the court was statutorily required to impose a sentence of natural life. The appellate court affirmed defendant’s conviction on direct appeal. The trial court then denied defendant’s post-conviction petition after a third-stage evidentiary hearing and defendant appealed. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court erred in dismissing his claim that his mandatory natural life sentence was constitutionally disproportionate as applied to him, that the trial court erred in finding that newly discovered evidence was unlikely to change the result at trial, and that the trial court erred in not finding ineffective assistance of trial counsel based on trial counsel’s alleged failure to introduce a prior consistent statement. The appellate court affirmed, explaining it did not find defendant’s arguments persuasive. (MITCHELL and WILSON, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act