Court Opinion

ID: 9529469
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:51:09.440143+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:48.472577
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE TRAPP, dissenting in part: I dissent from that portion of the majority opinion which reduces the sentence from 6 years to 4. Section 5 — 5—4.1 of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1978 Supp., ch. 38, par. 1005 — 5—4.1) provides that “there is a rebuttable presumption that the sentence imposed by the trial court is proper.” Section 5 — 5—3.1 of the Code (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1978 Supp., ch. 38, par. 1005 — 5—3.1) provides 12 statutory “grounds” for minimizing a sentence of imprisonment. Two are statements of essentially the same “grounds,” i.e., defendant neither caused serious physical harm to another person nor did he contemplate causing such harm. A third is that there is no history of defendant’s criminal activity. There is no evidence in mitigation tendered as to the nine remaining “grounds” for reducing the sentence. Defendant’s evidence in mitigation discloses that he did not support his wife and child. The trial court heard the evidence and observed defendant throughout the trial. Essentially, it may be said that there is no evidence to rebut the presumption that the sentence is proper. As I read the majority opinion, it is held that a 6-year sentence for a first conviction should be reducéd per se. I must disagree.