This case presents question as to whether trial court properly denied defendant’s request for leave to file successive post-conviction petition, where defendant alleged that his aggregate 76-year term of incarceration for murder and two attempted murder charges violated his 8th Amendment rights under Miller, 567 U.S. 460, where: (1) defendant was 14 years old at time of commission of said offenses; (2) according to defendant, such sentence was tantamount to life sentence; and (3) sentencing court did not consider special circumstances that present themselves to youthful offenders. Appellate Court, in affirming defendant’s sentence, conceded that it needed guidance as to what qualified as de facto life sentence. Moreover, defendant, in his petition for leave to appeal, argued that his sentence was de facto life sentence, and that, alternatively, Miller still applied to harsh sentences for juveniles that do not meet definition of de facto life sentences.
Illinois Supreme Court PLAs
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Petition