People v. Williams

Defendant, age 22.5 at time of offense, was convicted of 5 counts of 1st degree murder and 1 count of armed robbery. He received a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison. Defendant's postconviction petition did not allege a gist of a constitutional claim that the rationale of U.S. Supreme Court's Miller v. Alabama decision should be applied to Defendant. Defendant did not allege any facts particular to him that rendered him the functional equivalent of a juvenile. Sentence does not violate proportionate penalties clause. Court properly dismissed postconviction petition as frivolous or patently without merit. (CONNORS, concurring; MIKVA, dissenting.)