People v. O'Neal
2016 IL App (1st) 132284
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2016Background
- On May 29, 2010, at a street party on a one-way street, defendant Jauan O’Neal (acting as “security”) fired multiple shots at a van he believed carried rival gang members; one bullet struck and killed his friend Darius Murphy, who sat in a parked car across the street.
- Defendant was charged with (and the jury was instructed on) intentional murder, strong-probability murder, felony murder (predicated on aggravated discharge of a firearm), second-degree murder (as a mitigation theory for the intentional/strong-probability counts), and aggravated discharge of a firearm; self-defense was submitted to the jury on all counts.
- The jury convicted defendant of felony murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and reduced the intentional/strong-probability counts to second-degree murder based on imperfect (unreasonable) self-defense; it also found defendant personally discharged the firearm that caused the death.
- The trial court sentenced defendant on the felony-murder conviction (merged other counts) to 70 years (40 for murder + 30 firearm enhancement). Defense moved posttrial to vacate the felony-murder conviction on the ground that the predicate felony was the same act as the homicide; the court denied the motion.
- On appeal the First District reversed the felony-murder conviction and remanded for resentencing on second-degree murder, holding that using aggravated discharge of a firearm as the predicate felony here improperly allowed the State to nullify the second-degree murder verdict.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether aggravated discharge of a firearm could serve as the predicate felony for felony murder when the same shooting caused the death | The State: predicate felony is aggravated discharge and may support felony-murder conviction | O’Neal: the discharge was the same act that caused the death and therefore cannot be a predicate felony because that would circumvent second-degree murder | Reversed felony-murder conviction: the predicate felony was inherent in the killing and allowing it would permit the State to bypass a second-degree murder verdict |
| Whether the jury verdicts (felony murder and second-degree murder) were legally inconsistent and required a new trial | State: no inconsistency warranting reversal | O’Neal: inconsistent verdicts required relief | Court found the inconsistency resolved by reversing felony murder; no separate new trial required after reversal |
| Whether the instruction that "a person is not justified in the use of force if he is committing aggravated discharge of a firearm" improperly limited the jury’s self-defense consideration | State: instruction accurate (based on IPI) because self-defense cannot justify forcible felonies; instruction properly presented issues element (justification) elsewhere in packet | O’Neal: instruction effectively precluded jury from considering self-defense for shooting at a van | Instruction was not reversible error; jury packet included justification language in issues instruction and jury was presumed to follow instructions; claim forfeited for inadequate posttrial motion and not plain error |
| Whether the independent-felonious-purpose doctrine was satisfied (i.e., whether defendant acted with a felonious purpose separate from the killing) | State: defendant’s shooting at van showed a felonious purpose independent of the bystander’s death | O’Neal: felonious purpose was the same as the act that caused the death; transferred intent/imperfect self-defense applied | Court held purpose was not independent; even under transferred-intent facts the felonious purpose does not change based on where bullet landed—felony-murder conviction reversed |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Morgan, 197 Ill. 2d 404 (Ill. 2001) (predicate felony cannot be used when it is inherent in and arises from the murder itself)
- People v. Pelt, 207 Ill. 2d 434 (Ill. 2003) (predicate felony improper where the felony is the same act that killed the victim)
- People v. Davis, 213 Ill. 2d 459 (Ill. 2004) (mob action can be a proper predicate where different evidence proves the predicate felony and the murder)
- People v. Davison, 236 Ill. 2d 232 (Ill. 2010) (reaffirmed need to consider both whether the predicate felony is inherent in the murder and whether the defendant acted with an independent felonious purpose)
- People v. Alejos, 97 Ill. 2d 502 (Ill. 1983) (armed-violence predicate improper when predicated on voluntary manslaughter/imperfect self-defense)
- People v. Drakeford, 139 Ill. 2d 206 (Ill. 1990) (Prohibition on using an enhancing statute to nullify second-degree murder where jury found imperfect self-defense)
- People v. Toney, 337 Ill. App. 3d 122 (Ill. App. 2003) (felony-murder proper where initial gunfire set in motion events leading to bystander’s death)
- People v. McGee, 345 Ill. App. 3d 693 (Ill. App. 2003) (affirmed felony-murder where shots at rivals led to bystander death; distinguished from Morgan)
- People v. Figueroa, 381 Ill. App. 3d 828 (Ill. App. 2008) (affirmed felony-murder in gang-shooting facts where predicate felony had independent felonious purpose)
- People v. Dekens, 182 Ill. 2d 247 (Ill. 1998) (felony murder appropriate where an intended victim mistakenly kills a bystander)
- People v. Belk, 203 Ill. 2d 187 (Ill. 2003) (describing felony-murder purpose: deter violent forcible felonies and hold participants responsible for deaths during their commission)