Criminal sentencing — de facto life sentence

Posted October 7, 2021 12:03 PM

Where a defendant who committed the crime while under 21 receives an unconstitutional de facto life sentence and is later resentenced, the new sentence may be longer than 40 years so long as a meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on the defendant’s behavior, maturity, and reformation, is available within the 40-year period.The 5th District Appellate Court affirmed the decision of St. Clair County Circuit Judge John J. O’Gara.Jamel Beck pled guilty to six counts of aggravated battery and six counts of armed …

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