AG, Special Prosecutor Challenge Van Dyke's Sentence

CHICAGO, IL -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Special Prosecutor Joe McMahon are calling for a review of ex-Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke’s sentence after a jury convicted Van Dyke of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the 2014 on-duty shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

A jury found Van Dyke guilty last fall after a month-long trial that drew racial lines when a police dashcam video showed Van Dyke, who is white, firing 16 times at the black teen armed with a pocket knife as he appeared to be walking away from police.

The dead teen’s relatives and activists have argued that the sentence of just under seven years handed down by a Cook County judge was too lenient. During Van Dyke’s sentencing hearing Jan. 18, Judge Vincent Gaughan said he based his decision on the second-degree murder conviction and not the 16 counts of aggravated battery. Van Dyke is serving his sentence in an undisclosed state correctional facility.

At the time of the ex-cop’s sentencing, prosecutors were asking for 18 to 20 years; the defense asked for probation. The mandamus petition filed with the Illinois Supreme Court challenges the prison sentence issued Jan. 18 by Judge Gaughan.

“Specifically, this petition asks the Illinois Supreme Court to decide whether the trial court judge acted improperly by determining that Van Dyke’s sentence be based on the second degree murder conviction, rather than his conviction on 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm,” Raoul said.

The petition also asks the Illinois Supreme Court to decide whether the judge was incorrect when he stated in court that the sentence of 16 aggravated battery counts be merged into a single act for purposes of sentencing, rather than sentencing Van Dyke on each of the 16 counts.

“Our petition argues that if the supreme court orders a new sentencing hearing, it should also order the trial judge to follow precedent by imposing sentence on all 16 counts and then determine whether one or more sentences must be configured,” Raoul added.

The Illinois Supreme Court has seven days to rule on the petition, or another deadline imposed by the court should Van Dyke choose to file an objection.

“I recognize that a trial judge’s discretion in sentencing is given great deference,” Raoul said. “However, it is in the interest of justice that we do all within our powers to make sure that such exercise in discretion be applied consistent with the mandates of law no matter who the defendant and who the victim.”

While McMahon, who prosecuted the case, said that he was “satisfied” with the sentence imposed by the judge, the special counsel has since had time to step back and evaluate the law under which the sentence was imposed. Van Dyke’s attorneys filed an appeal with Illinois’ First District Appellate Court late last week.

McMahon said that important issues came forward not just in the trail of the case, but also during the sentencing. Such issues, he stated, would have come out during an appeal or the post conviction process, regardless if an appeal was filed immediately or not. He called the chances for prosecution to change a sentence “narrow.”

“I think the bigger message is to make sure that the sentence imposed is that it is lawful under both the legislative intent and the law that is set by the Illinois Supreme Court,” McMahon said.

In their filing, McMahon and Raoul are asking the state supreme court to direct the judge to vacate Van Dyke’s sentence for second-degree murder, impose a sentence on each of the 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, and determine which of the aggravated battery with a firearm convictions involved “severe bodily injury” warranting consecutive sentences.

Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left, is led away after his guilty verdict in his trial for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on October 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Antonio Perez - Pool/Getty Images)