Court Opinion

ID: 9521553
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:07:26.640193+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:49:54.814101
License: Public Domain

CHIEF JUSTICE HARRISON, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree that we should vacate Fuller’s convictions for felony murder and knowing murder. In my view, however, we should also set aside his remaining convictions and grant him the opportunity to be tried in accordance with the new rules promulgated by our court for the conduct of cases in which the State is seeking the death penalty. Adherence to those rules is indispensable for achieving an accurate determination of innocence or guilt, and the rules apply to all capital cases now coming before us on review, including cases commenced before they were enacted. People v. Hickey, 204 Ill. 2d 585, 635 (2001) (Harrison, C.J., dissenting); see also People ex rel. Birkett v. Bakalis, 196 Ill. 2d 510, 513 (2001). Even if Fuller were not entitled to a new trial, I would regard the majority’s disposition as inadequate. In remanding for resentencing, this court should bar the State from seeking the death penalty. As set forth in my partial concurrence and partial dissent in People v. Bull, 185 Ill. 2d 179 (1998), the Illinois death penalty law is void and unenforceable because it violates the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amends. VIII, XIV) and article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 2). Absent a new trial conducted in accordance with the new rules, there is no basis for altering that conclusion. JUSTICE KILBRIDE, also concurring in part and dissenting in part: I concur in part with the judgment to vacate Fuller’s convictions for felony murder and knowing murder. Nevertheless, I agree with Chief Justice Harrison that defendant’s remaining convictions and sentence should also be set aside because the trial proceedings were not conducted in accordance with the new supreme court rules governing capital cases. As I stated in my dissents in People v. Hickey, 204 Ill. 2d 585, 636-40 (2001) (Kilbride, J., dissenting), and People v. Simpson, 204 Ill. 2d 536, 581-85 (2001) (Kilbride, J., dissenting), the procedures in capital cases prior to this court’s adoption of the new rules were inherently unreliable and did not sufficiently protect a defendant’s constitutional rights. Consequently, the rules, promulgated to help remedy the flaws of the old system, must be applied retroactively to all capital cases currently pending on direct appeal. See People v. Hudson, 195 Ill. 2d 117, 126 (2001); see also Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 328, 93 L. Ed. 2d 649, 661, 107 S. Ct. 708, 716 (1987). For this reason, defendant should receive a new trial in compliance with the new rules.