People v. Guerrero

Defendant appealed from the first stage dismissal of his post-conviction petition, which alleged that his 45-year sentence for first-degree murder violated the proportionate penalties clause because he was 22 years old at the time of the offense. The appellate court affirmed, finding that there was no basis in the records to find the gist of a constitutional claim where the legislature has indicated that 21 years of age is the line between adults and juveniles for sentencing and where there was nothing in the record supporting a conclusion that defendant’s mental age was younger than his chronological age. (BURKE and McBRIDE, concurring)