People v. Newlin

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of first-degree murder under theory of accountability, and sentenced to 55 years. Defendant instructed his employee to kill Defendant's ex-stepfather,with whom Defendant lived; employee killed victim with multiple gunshots. Court properly considered and listed factors in mitigation and aggravation, and court focused on premeditated nature of plan to kill victim. Court placed insignificant weight to fact that Defendant's conduct caused serious harm and did not result in a greater sentence. Shooter was sentenced to 45 years, and it was expected that Defendant would receive longer sentence as he masterminded murder.(CHAPMAN and STEWART, concurring.)