Felony Murder, Forcible Felony| Chicago and Northwest suburbs

People v. Belk, January 24, 2003
326 Ill. App. 3d 290 .
Opinion by RARICK, J.

In the evening hours of May 14, 1998, two people in a car at 111th
Street and Western Avenue in Chicago were killed when their vehicle was
rammed by a van which was fleeing from police in a high-speed chase.
The chase had begun when Blue Island officers identified a vehicle that
had just been reported stolen from a nearby apartment complex. Speeds
of the chase reached over 100 miles per hour before the crash occurred,
hurling the victims' car 375 feet. When apprehended, the defendant
driver was discovered to be 16 years old and to be legally intoxicated,
with a blood-alcohol content of 0.19.

Bench trial proceedings in the circuit court of Cook County yielded
convictions for two counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated
possession of a stolen vehicle. A life sentence was imposed.
On appeal, the defendant argued that his convictions for felony murder
should be reduced to reckless homicide. The appellate court agreed and
remanded for resentencing.

In this decision, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed with the appellate
court. It held that, under the facts of this case, there was no
"forcible felony" for purposes of the felony-murder statute because the
evidence did not support an inference that the defendant contemplated
that the use of force or violence against an individual might be
involved in his attempt to elude police.

In affirming, the supreme court noted that whether a perpetrator
intended to kill the victim is irrelevant for purposes of felony murder,
and it did not interpret the appellate court's opinion as requiring
evidence of intent to kill in order to sustain a felony-murder
conviction.