People v. Wilson

2023 IL 127666

220 N.E.3d 1068

468 Ill.Dec. 289

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant,

v.Michael WILSON, Appellee.

Docket No. 127666

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Filed May 18, 2023

Kwame Raoul, Attorney General, of Springfield (Jane Elinor Notz, Solicitor General, and Katherine M. Doersch and Gopi Kashyap, Assistant Attorneys General, of Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

James E. Chadd, State Appellate Defender, Thomas A. Karalis, Deputy Defender, and Andrew J. Boyd, Assistant Appellate Defender, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, of Ottawa, for appellee.

Shobha L. Mahadev and Lydette S. Assefa, of Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, of Chicago, for amici curiae Juvenile Law Center et al.

OPINION

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

¶ 1 Petitioner, Michael Wilson, filed a motion in the circuit court of Kankakee County seeking leave to file a successive postconviction petition challenging his sentence for murder. Wilson, who was a juvenile at the time of sentencing, alleged that the sentencing court had violated the eighth amendment by imposing a de facto life sentence without first making a finding of permanent incorrigibility or specifically addressing the attendant characteristics of youth discussed in Miller v. Alabama , 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012).

¶ 2 The circuit court denied Wilson leave to file his successive petition, finding he had failed to establish either cause or prejudice under section 122-1(f) of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act). 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f) (West 2016). On appeal, the appellate court reversed that determination, vacated Wilson's sentence, and remanded the case for resentencing. 2021 IL App (3d) 200181-U, 2021 WL 2948869. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court and remand the cause to that court for further proceedings.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 On the evening of December 26, 2008, Ryan Graefnitz and two friends, Joseph Benegas and Walter Waschke, drove to Kankakee in search of cocaine. While stopping to get gas, Graefnitz encountered Wilson and Byron Moore, who told Graefnitz they knew where to buy drugs. The group then drove to an apartment building in Kankakee.

¶ 5 When they arrived at the building, Wilson, Moore, and Graefnitz got out of the car and went into the building's vestibule. Witnesses inside the building heard someone announce that a robbery was taking place and then heard two or three gunshots. Benegas and Waschke, who had been waiting in the car, also heard the gunshots and then saw Graefnitz exit the building and collapse on the ground. Graefnitz had been shot in the back and died from his wounds. Benegas and Waschke also both saw Wilson and Moore run from the building.

¶ 6 The State subsequently filed a petition alleging that Wilson, who was 14 years old at the time of the murder, was a delinquent minor. The State then moved to transfer the case to criminal court.

¶ 7 Following a hearing, the circuit court reviewed the relevant statutory factors governing the motion to transfer, including the seriousness of the offense and the public's interest in being protected from crime, as well as the personal history of Wilson and his potential for rehabilitation. The court granted the transfer motion, concluding that charging Wilson in the juvenile justice system " ‘with the hope that this minor will somehow be transformed into a non-violent law abiding citizen ready for release in society at age 21’ " would not serve " ‘the public interest nor the interest of justice.’ " People v. Wilson , 2015 IL App (3d) 130606-U, ¶ 13, 2015 WL 6549597. Wilson was then charged by indictment with first degree murder and armed robbery.

¶ 8 Following a jury trial, Wilson was found guilty of first degree murder and attempted armed robbery. In response to a special interrogatory prepared by the State for sentence enhancement purposes, the jury found that Wilson did not personally discharge the weapon that caused Graefnitz's death.

¶ 9 The circuit court thereafter ordered the preparation of a presentence investigation report (PSI) for sentencing. The PSI, which consisted of more than 200 pages of individual reports and supporting documents, indicated that Wilson was born prematurely with cocaine and amphetamines in his system. He was placed into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services and was adopted when he was two years old. He was placed in a special education program because of his behavior problems and learning disabilities.

¶ 10 The PSI additionally showed that Wilson was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the third grade and later with oppositional defiant disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and disruptive behavior disorder. By the time he was 13, Wilson was consuming alcohol regularly and smoking marijuana on a daily basis. School records dating from 2001 indicated that Wilson was emotionally disturbed and suffered from speech and language impairment, was noncompliant in the classroom, was aggressive to his peers and adults, and acted out and shouted without thinking. Wilson was suspended from school several times for his conduct.

¶ 11 The PSI contained a behavioral evaluation conducted in 2008 by the Riverside Resolve Center in connection with outpatient substance abuse treatment Wilson received because his behavior had become more severe over the years. Wilson's outpatient treatment was unsuccessful because he continued to use drugs. Later, he entered a residential program but was also unsuccessful because he left the facility without permission.

¶ 12 In 2007, Wilson was found guilty of criminal damage to property and trespass to real property. In the behavioral health screen for court supervision, Wilson was diagnosed with disruptive behavioral disorder with some oppositional defiant disorder. Wilson was sentenced to one year of court supervision, which was later revoked. Wilson was then placed in the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

¶ 13 The records from the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center, dated from 2009 to 2011, included medical progress notes, incident reports, and case notes. Most of these documents indicated Wilson had poor behavior and disregarded the rules. Wilson incurred several incident reports for fighting, disobeying staff, making deliberate or implied threats to staff, possession of contraband, damaging facility property, and refusing lockdown while in the detention center.

¶ 14 Also included in the PSI was a report from Dr. Paul Pasulka, who had evaluated Wilson in connection with the State's motion to transfer his case to criminal court. Dr. Pasulka diagnosed Wilson with mild retardation, ADHD, and depressive disorder with atypical features. Professor Monia Mahan had also evaluated Wilson in connection with the motion to transfer. Her report indicated Wilson was easily frustrated, not able to follow directions, and engaged in inappropriate behavior. He also had difficulty in all areas of functioning and only possessed a few adaptive behaviors to help him cope with day-to-day living.

¶ 15 At the sentencing hearing, the circuit court considered the PSI, the parties’ evidence in aggravation and mitigation, a victim impact statement, and Wilson's statement in allocution. The court also heard argument from the State and from Wilson's attorney. The latter stressed to the court that it should look to what was "going on with defendant," including the fact that he was born with drugs in his system and suffered from substantial mental defects and that there was evidence in the PSI that it was reasonably likely Wilson could function in a structured setting. Following the parties’ arguments, the court sentenced Wilson to 55 years’ imprisonment for first degree murder (which included a 15-year firearm enhancement), to be served at 100%, and a consecutive term of 4 years’ imprisonment for attempted armed robbery.

¶ 16 In explaining its reasons for the sentences, the court emphasized that the victim was shot in cold blood and left to die on the street. The court acknowledged Wilson's troubled history and developmental problems but stated that, in "page after page after page after page [of the PSI], there is not one page that I can think of in this entire presentence investigation that doesn't talk about how bad you are." In addition, according to the court, the PSI showed that Wilson was "a very dangerous person," as he did not care who he hurt and was not going to abide by any rules.

¶ 17 On direct appeal, Wilson raised several arguments, including a contention that the circuit court had abused its discretion in imposing sentencing because it failed to consider mitigating factors, including Wilson's age, history of neglect, developmental delay, mental health history, and lack of a violent criminal history. Wilson , 2015 IL App (3d) 130606-U, ¶ 66. The appellate court rejected this argument, as well as others, and affirmed Wilson's convictions and sentence. Id. ¶ 69. With respect to Wilson's sentencing argument, the appellate court stated:

"Here, the trial court considered the mitigating and aggravating factors and found that the aggravating factors far outweighed the mitigating ones because of defendant's conduct, including his behavior in juvenile detention, which showed a pattern of aggressiveness and violence. In this case, defendant's sentence of 55 years for murder, which was well within the statutory range, was not an abuse of discretion." Id.

¶ 18 On September 26, 2016, Wilson filed a pro se postconviction petition, which was summarily dismissed by the circuit court. On appeal, Wilson argued that he had presented the gist of a constitutional claim of judicial bias and the gist of a constitutional claim that his de facto life sentence violated the eighth amendment ( U.S. Const., amend. VIII ). People v. Wilson , 2019 IL App (3d) 160679-U, ¶ 20, 2019 WL 385261. The...