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1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||||
5 | adding Section 5-5-4.05 as follows: | |||||||||||||||||||||
6 | (730 ILCS 5/5-5-4.05 new) | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 5-5-4.05. First degree murder by victim of domestic | |||||||||||||||||||||
8 | violence; reduction of sentence. | |||||||||||||||||||||
9 | (a) The Supreme Court may reduce the sentence of a person | |||||||||||||||||||||
10 | who is serving a term of imprisonment for first degree murder | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 | or the prior offense of murder if each of these circumstances | |||||||||||||||||||||
12 | exist: | |||||||||||||||||||||
13 | (1) the murderer must have been tried, sentenced, or | |||||||||||||||||||||
14 | pled guilty to the offense prior to the effective date of | |||||||||||||||||||||
15 | the federal Battered Women's Testimony Act of 1992; | |||||||||||||||||||||
16 | (2) the murderer must have claimed abuse
as defined in | |||||||||||||||||||||
17 | Section 112A-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963; | |||||||||||||||||||||
18 | (3) the murderer must have written documentation of | |||||||||||||||||||||
19 | abuse prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of | |||||||||||||||||||||
20 | the 97th General Assembly. Documentation may include, but | |||||||||||||||||||||
21 | is not limited to, civil or criminal court records, | |||||||||||||||||||||
22 | proceedings, notarized statements, police reports, and | |||||||||||||||||||||
23 | witness statements. Abuse must have been claimed but is not |
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1 | required to be proved; | ||||||
2 | (4) the murderer must be incarcerated for the murder of | ||||||
3 | his or her abuser, whether perpetrated by the murderer or | ||||||
4 | whether accountable for the murder under Article 5 of the | ||||||
5 | Criminal Code of 1961; | ||||||
6 | (5) the murderer must not have been previously | ||||||
7 | convicted of first degree murder, a Class X felony, or a | ||||||
8 | Class 1 felony; and | ||||||
9 | (6) the murderer must have been sentenced to a term of | ||||||
10 | imprisonment that is more than the maximum sentence that is | ||||||
11 | not an extended term
sentence. | ||||||
12 | (b) If all of the criteria of subsection (a) are met, the | ||||||
13 | murderer may submit in writing a petition to the Illinois | ||||||
14 | Supreme Court for reduction of the murderer's sentence to the | ||||||
15 | maximum sentence available for the offense at the time of its | ||||||
16 | commission that was not an extended term sentence. The petition | ||||||
17 | request must include all documentation required by subsection | ||||||
18 | (a).
The Supreme Court, within 60 business days from the date | ||||||
19 | the Court receives the petition, shall review the petition and | ||||||
20 | all submitted documents, and if the Court is satisfied that the | ||||||
21 | criteria of subsection (a) have been met shall reduce the | ||||||
22 | petitioner's sentence to the maximum sentence available for the | ||||||
23 | offense at the time of its commission that was not an extended | ||||||
24 | term sentence.
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25 | Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by |
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1 | changing Section 2-1401 as follows:
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2 | (735 ILCS 5/2-1401) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401)
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3 | Sec. 2-1401. Relief from judgments.
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4 | (a) Relief from final orders and judgments, after 30 days | ||||||
5 | from the
entry thereof, may be had upon petition as provided in | ||||||
6 | this Section.
Writs of error coram nobis and coram vobis, bills | ||||||
7 | of review and bills
in the nature of bills of review are | ||||||
8 | abolished. All relief heretofore
obtainable and the grounds for | ||||||
9 | such relief heretofore available,
whether by any of the | ||||||
10 | foregoing remedies or otherwise, shall be
available in every | ||||||
11 | case, by proceedings hereunder, regardless of the
nature of the | ||||||
12 | order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the
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13 | proceedings in which it was entered. Except as provided in | ||||||
14 | Section 6
of the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, there shall be | ||||||
15 | no distinction
between actions and other proceedings, | ||||||
16 | statutory or otherwise, as to
availability of relief, grounds | ||||||
17 | for relief or the relief obtainable.
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18 | (b) The petition must be filed in the same proceeding in | ||||||
19 | which the
order or judgment was entered but is not a | ||||||
20 | continuation thereof. The
petition must be supported by | ||||||
21 | affidavit or other appropriate showing as
to matters not of | ||||||
22 | record. All parties to the petition shall be notified
as | ||||||
23 | provided by rule.
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24 | (c) Except as provided in Section 20b of the Adoption Act | ||||||
25 | and Section
2-32 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or in a |
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1 | petition based
upon Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal | ||||||
2 | Procedure of 1963, the petition
must be filed not later than 2 | ||||||
3 | years after the entry of the order or judgment.
Time during | ||||||
4 | which the person seeking relief is under legal disability or
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5 | duress or the ground for relief is fraudulently concealed shall | ||||||
6 | be excluded
in computing the period of 2 years.
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7 | (d) The filing of a petition under this Section does not | ||||||
8 | affect the
order or judgment, or suspend its operation.
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9 | (e) Unless lack of jurisdiction affirmatively appears from | ||||||
10 | the
record proper, the vacation or modification of an order or | ||||||
11 | judgment
pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not | ||||||
12 | affect the right,
title or interest in or to any real or | ||||||
13 | personal property of any person,
not a party to the original | ||||||
14 | action, acquired for value after the entry
of the order or | ||||||
15 | judgment but before the filing of the petition, nor
affect any | ||||||
16 | right of any person not a party to the original action under
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17 | any certificate of sale issued before the filing of the | ||||||
18 | petition,
pursuant to a sale based on the order or judgment.
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19 | (f) Nothing contained in this Section affects any existing | ||||||
20 | right to
relief from a void order or judgment, or to employ any | ||||||
21 | existing method
to procure that relief.
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22 | (g) This Section does not apply to petitions filed under | ||||||
23 | Section 5-5-4.05 of the Unified Code of Corrections. | ||||||
24 | (Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
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