An Illinois legal expert says the life sentence handed down Monday to Adolfo Davis for a double murder he committed as a teenager will not set a precedent for similar cases.
Scott Main, an attorney at Northwestern University, doesn’t think that Judge Angela Petrone’s confirmation of a life sentence for Davis will influence other judges.
“Each and every one of these cases is going to be based on individualized considerations of the person in front of them,” Main said.
Davis, now 38, was given a chance for a new sentence when the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life for juveniles is unconstitutional. He was the first of about 80 inmates in Illinois eligible for re-sentencing because of the ruling.
In upholding the sentence, Judge Petrone pointed to 64 infractions while Davis was in prison, and his criminal past.
“This sentence is necessary to deter others,” she said. “It is necessary to protect the public from harm. The defendant’s acts showed an aggression and callous disregard for human life far beyond his tender age of 14.”
Last month at a re-sentencing hearing, Davis’s attorney Patricia Soung claimed Davis had changed during his more than two decades in prison.
But prosecutor James McKay said Davis kept up his gang ties while inside.
“As an inmate at the Illinois Department of Corrections, this defendant’s behavior was outrageous,” McKay said.
Judge Petrone said Davis has bettered himself during his time in prison.
“However, these commendable acts toward self-improvement -- and the support he has received from well-meaning but uninformed persons -- are not sufficient for this court to alter his sentence,” she said, “even considering his tender age of 14 when the crimes were committed.”
Soung said they plan to appeal Judge Petrone’s decision – and she believes this ruling will have an effect elsewhere.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” she said, “that people were watching today and taking lessons they can apply to their own cases.”
