Defendant, age 18 and with no prior criminal record at time of offense, was convicted after bench trial before Judge Frank Wilson of 1976 murder of a Chicago police officer, and Judge Wilson then sentenced him to an indeterminate sentence of 200 to 600 years. A different trial judge denied Defendant's Section 2-1401 petition, after evidentiary hearing, and denied Defendant's motion for leave to file successive postconviction petition. Judge Wilson had accepted a bribe in an unrelated case seven months prior; this was one of the harshest sentences he had ever delivered; and there was there was a conspicuous police presence at this trial. No rational person would conclude that the conviction and sentence, by themselves, are evidence of bias. Defendant did establish cause; he filed his 1st postconviction petition in 1987, when he could not have anticipated the Miller line of cases starting in 2012 and could not have raised a claim based on those cases. Defendant did establish prejudice; he could not have raised an as-applied challenge to a de facto life sentence in his initial postconviction proceeding. Without a developed record, he cannot show his constitutional claim has merit, and without a meritful claim he cannot develop a record. Appellate court misstated Defendant's age as 19 at time of offense. Thus, court erred in denying Defendant's motion for leave to file successive postconviction petition. (LAMPKIN and BURKE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Postconviction Petitions