103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1265

 

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-105

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that, except for certain convictions for first degree murder, the court may, in its discretion, sentence a defendant who was under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense to a sentence that is less than the applicable minimum determinate sentence of imprisonment for the offense authorized by the Code.


LRB103 05343 RLC 50362 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1265LRB103 05343 RLC 50362 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5changing Section 5-4.5-105 as follows:
 
6    (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-105)
7    Sec. 5-4.5-105. SENTENCING OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF
818 AT THE TIME OF THE COMMISSION OF AN OFFENSE.
9    (a) On or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
10of the 99th General Assembly, when a person commits an offense
11and the person is under 18 years of age at the time of the
12commission of the offense, the court, at the sentencing
13hearing conducted under Section 5-4-1, shall consider the
14following additional factors in mitigation in determining the
15appropriate sentence:
16        (1) the person's age, impetuosity, and level of
17    maturity at the time of the offense, including the ability
18    to consider risks and consequences of behavior, and the
19    presence of cognitive or developmental disability, or
20    both, if any;
21        (2) whether the person was subjected to outside
22    pressure, including peer pressure, familial pressure, or
23    negative influences;

 

 

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1        (3) the person's family, home environment, educational
2    and social background, including any history of parental
3    neglect, physical abuse, or other childhood trauma;
4        (4) the person's potential for rehabilitation or
5    evidence of rehabilitation, or both;
6        (5) the circumstances of the offense;
7        (6) the person's degree of participation and specific
8    role in the offense, including the level of planning by
9    the defendant before the offense;
10        (7) whether the person was able to meaningfully
11    participate in his or her defense;
12        (8) the person's prior juvenile or criminal history;
13    and
14        (9) any other information the court finds relevant and
15    reliable, including an expression of remorse, if
16    appropriate. However, if the person, on advice of counsel
17    chooses not to make a statement, the court shall not
18    consider a lack of an expression of remorse as an
19    aggravating factor.
20    (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), the court may
21sentence the defendant to any disposition authorized for the
22class of the offense of which he or she was found guilty as
23described in Article 4.5 of this Code, and may, in its
24discretion, decline to impose any otherwise applicable
25sentencing enhancement based upon firearm possession,
26possession with personal discharge, or possession with

 

 

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1personal discharge that proximately causes great bodily harm,
2permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to
3another person.
4    (b-5) Except as provided in subsection (c), the court may,
5in its discretion, sentence a defendant who was under 18 years
6of age at the time of the commission of the offense to a
7sentence that is less than the applicable minimum determinate
8sentence of imprisonment for the offense authorized by this
9Code.
10    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
11defendant is convicted of first degree murder and would
12otherwise be subject to sentencing under clause (iii), (iv),
13(v), or (vii) of subparagraph (c) of paragraph (1) of
14subsection (a) of Section 5-8-1 of this Code based on the
15category of persons identified therein, the court shall impose
16a sentence of not less than 40 years of imprisonment. In
17addition, the court may, in its discretion, decline to impose
18the sentencing enhancements based upon the possession or use
19of a firearm during the commission of the offense included in
20subsection (d) of Section 5-8-1.
21(Source: P.A. 99-69, eff. 1-1-16; 99-258, eff. 1-1-16; 99-875,
22eff. 1-1-17.)