Defendant, then age 17, began a "pay for sex" arrangement with the victim (age 38), whom she and another person had planned to rob. However, the other person, during robbery attempt, shot and killed the victim. Defendant was convicted of multiple counts of 1st-degree murder predicated on doctrines of common-design accountability and felony-murder statute. Convictions were merged into single conviction for felony murder, and Defendant was sentenced to 25 years. Although Defendant did not kill or intend for a killing to occur, due process does not bar such conviction. Felony murder and accountability statutes do not require intent to commit murder, nor do they require that the resulting death be foreseeable. Felony-murder statute does not punish the wrongdoer based on what was or was not reasonably foreseeable. The fact that juveniles do not have the foresight of adults to appreciate the potential consequences of their actions is irrelevant to due process analysis. (McBRIDE and BURKE, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Juvenile Sentencing