People v. Green

2022 IL App (1st) 200749

202 N.E.3d 935

460 Ill.Dec. 915

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Alexis GREEN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-20-0749

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, THIRD DIVISION.

Filed March 2, 2022

James E. Chadd, Douglas R. Hoff, and Stephen L. Gentry, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Enrique Abraham, Douglas P. Harvath, Jessica Ball, and Matthew Connors, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant, Alexis Green, appeals the trial court's denial of his motion for leave to file a pro se successive postconviction petition. Relying on recent case law following the United States Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. Alabama , 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), and evolving societal standards governing the sentencing of youthful offenders, defendant argues on appeal that he has established cause and prejudice for the filing of an as-applied challenge. According to defendant, his 100-year sentence is an unconstitutional de facto life sentence under both the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution ( U.S. Const., amend. VIII ) and the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution ( Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11 ) because he was 20 years old and intellectually disabled at the time of the offense.

¶ 2 Defendant was charged with the January 1991 shooting death of Officer Eddie Jones Jr., as well as the attempted murder and armed robbery of Officer Dennis Dobson. For background, we provide the following evidence which was presented at defendant's bench trial.

"Officer Dobson testified that while on patrol on January 7, 1991, he and Officer Jones noticed six individuals, including defendant, exchanging packets for money in the area of 19th Street and Kedzie Avenue. The officers requested each of the individuals to approach their squad car. As Officer Dobson began a pat-down search, defendant fled northbound through an alley. Officer Jones immediately pursued defendant on foot while Officer Dobson followed in the car. Eventually, an off-duty police officer entered the chase and apprehended defendant. Officer Dobson searched defendant, but did not discover any weapons.

The officers hand-cuffed defendant, placed him in the back seat of the car and took him to the 10th District police station. During the return trip, defendant offered to ‘give’ the officers a drug dealer in exchange for his release. This offer was rejected. At the police station, Officer Jones searched defendant for a second time and determined that defendant was unarmed. Defendant again offered to give the officers a drug dealer, [whom] he now identified only as ‘Sabu’. This time the officers agreed. The officers re-cuffed defendant with his hands in front of his body and placed him in the back seat of the squad car. Officer Jones sat in the passenger seat while Officer Dobson drove to the area of Madison Street and Pulaski Road.

Defendant directed the officers to 3931 West Monroe Street and identified a building which purportedly contained a cache of drugs. As Officer Jones recorded the address and other information, Officer Dobson headed the squad car back to the station. At that moment, Officer Dobson heard a loud bang. He turned and saw Officer Jones jerk forward in the passenger seat and fall backwards.

Defendant, who was still sitting in the back seat of the squad car, ordered Officer Dobson to continue driving the vehicle. He then said ‘f*** you’ and, as with Officer Jones, shot Officer Dobson in the back of the head.

After reaching over the seat and searching the officers’ pockets, defendant exited the vehicle, walked to the driver's front door, and took Officer Dobson's handgun. Defendant then said, ‘You ain't s***,’ spat on Officer Dobson and fled. Officer Dobson was later hospitalized and partially recovered; however, Officer Jones died at the scene." People v. Green , No. 1-93-2098, slip order at 2-3 [227 Ill.Dec. 816, 688 N.E.2d 153] (1995) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23 ).

¶ 3 The evidence at trial also included testimony from Katina Pickett and Kurt Anderson. Defendant was the father of one of Pickett's children. On January 7, 1991, Pickett woke defendant up at her house and defendant later left with a firearm. When Pickett returned home that evening, she had a conversation with defendant. Defendant admitted to her that he shot both of the police officers because he "wasn't going back to jail." Defendant then showed Pickett the firearm that had belonged to Officer Dobson. Anderson testified that defendant arrived at Anderson's home the evening of January 7, 1991. The men watched the news story about the shooting, and defendant admitted to Anderson that he shot the officers because he was afraid of going back to jail.

¶ 4 Sergeant Michael Chasen testified that defendant was arrested sometime after 11 p.m. on January 7, 1991. Sergeant Chasen spoke with defendant at approximately midnight that night. During the interview, defendant confessed to the crimes and explained the chain of events surrounding the shooting of Officers Jones and Dobson. Defendant also admitted that the officers had failed to recover a handgun he had hidden in the waistband of his pants. Assistant State's Attorney (ASA) Allen Lynn testified that he was assigned to the case on January 7, 1991. He, along with Sergeant Chasen and another detective, questioned defendant at the police station on January 8. During the interview, defendant described the circumstances of the shooting, but defendant declined ASA Lynn's offer to memorialize his statement.

¶ 5 After all the evidence was presented, the trial court found the defendant guilty of the first degree murder of Officer Jones and the attempted first degree murder and armed robbery of Officer Dobson. The State sought the death penalty, and in May 1993, the trial court conducted defendant's bifurcated sentencing hearing. In the first part of the hearing, the trial court considered whether defendant was eligible for the death penalty. During this eligibility portion, the State introduced defendant's birth certificate, verifying that defendant was born on August 18, 1969. The parties also stipulated that defendant was 23 years old at the time of the sentencing hearing. At the conclusion of the eligibility portion, the court found defendant eligible for the death penalty.

¶ 6 During the second phase of the sentencing hearing, the parties presented evidence in aggravation and mitigation. Thomas Morgan testified in aggravation. He was employed as a probation officer with the juvenile court in Cook County. He was previously assigned to defendant's case in 1983. He testified that defendant's date of birth was August 18, 1969. Morgan investigated two juvenile petitions for defendant involving residential burglary. Defendant was committed to the juvenile division of the Department of Corrections for both petitions. Morgan was also aware of two prior juvenile petitions involving burglaries. He further knew of two pending petitions when defendant was committed to the Department of Corrections, for a total of six juvenile cases. Morgan testified, that in his opinion, defendant broke the law for money. Morgan thought defendant was "quite bright" based on how defendant responded to questions and how he spoke, but defendant did not regularly attend school.

¶ 7 Officer Charles Burger testified about his contact with defendant in November 1985. The officer observed a parked vehicle with two young people who were potentially violating curfew. He identified defendant as the driver of the vehicle. Officer Burger subsequently learned the vehicle was stolen, and defendant was charged with trespass to a vehicle. While being processed for the arrest, defendant indicated his date of birth was August 18, 1967. Officer Burger admitted the case was later stricken off leave.

¶ 8 Officer Michael Jones testified that on May 7, 1987, he received a notification of a suspected stolen vehicle in a vacant lot. He approached and observed defendant behind the wheel. Defendant was subsequently charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

¶ 9 Officer Joseph Scardino testified that on May 15, 1987, he observed a vehicle that was parked and the engine was running. He checked the license plate and the vehicle came back stolen. The officer then arrested the occupants of the vehicle. He identified defendant as the driver of the vehicle. Defendant was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Officer Scardino was unaware of the disposition of the case and was never called to testify.

¶ 10 Officer John O'Donovan testified that in November 1987, he observed a vehicle being driven with no license plates and the door lock had been pulled. He then activated his squad car emergency equipment and pulled the vehicle over. The occupant of the vehicle fled from the driver's door. Officer O'Donovan chased the individual and placed him under arrest. He identified defendant as the person he apprehended. Defendant was subsequently charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The officer later testified at a bench trial. The State submitted evidence from the bench trial indicating that defendant was found guilty and sentenced to three years in the Department of Corrections. The State also submitted a certified copy of conviction from a different case in which defendant pled guilty in October 1989 to possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to two years in the Department of Corrections.

¶ 11 Dr. George Savarese testified in mitigation. He was a licensed clinical social worker and was self-employed with a clinical and consultation practice providing psychotherapy. He was retained by the public defender's office to work on defendant's case to develop a comprehensive psychosocial development...