Defendant was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and sentenced to 31 years in prison, which included a 25-year mandatory sentencing enhancement for personally discharging a firearm. Defendant argued on direct appeal that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had the intent to kill and that his counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a sentence reduction by arguing that he was acting under a sudden intense passion resulting from serious provocation and that if the victim had died the defendant would have negligently or accidentally caused the death. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, but vacated defendant’s sentence and remanded for resentencing, finding that defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel did not seek the sentence reduction. (C.A. WALKER, concurring and TAILOR, concurring part and dissenting in part)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Effective Assistance of Counsel