THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
-GUN ENHANCEMENT LAW-
To all concerned:
My name is Torry Carroll and I’ m an inmate at Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Illinois. I’m a first time offender who’s been convicted of attempted first degree murder and sentenced to a term of 28 years at 85%. I continue to seek relief from this conviction and sentence. I’m twenty-six years old now and at the time of my conviction and sentencing, I hadn’t even experienced the amount of years that I’ve been sentenced to serve.
The purpose of this composition is to inform readers of the harshness of the penalties set forth by Public Act 91-404. This Act is commonly termed the “Gun Enhancement Act/ Law” by those of us it affects. It was amended (or enacted) by the Illinois Legislature in 2000 with the intent to deter the use of firearms in the commission of serious felonies. These serious felonies include first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, aggravated vehicular high-jacking, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion, and a few others pertaining to sexual assault crimes while armed. Depending on the use of the firearm, a person could receive a 15 year, 20 year, or 25 year to life enhancement.
Though this Act was enacted for all of Illinois, I find it odd that, to my knowledge, it seems to be enforced only in Cook County. I also find it odd that, to my knowledge, this law is only being employed in the sub-circuit courts in Cook County which are located in the suburbs, where the majority of these offenses rarely occur.
I strongly feel that the court officials of these suburban,Cook County sub-circuit courts such as Bridgeview, Skokie, Markham, Maywood, and Rolling Meadows have a predisposition of prejudice against the people that are tried and convicted of the offenses that carry severe punishment for there being a presence or utilization of a firearm. Most of the accused are residents of Chicago where the offenses that they are accused of are pervasive, whereas , they’re being tried and convicted in the courts of the suburbs where these offences rarely, to never happens. It is more probable that the staff at the Cook County circuit court in Chicago is susceptible to observe criminal activity and hear gunshots and emergency sirens on their arrival to and departure from work. I believe that the events of the judges, jurors, and prosecutors surroundings heavily impact their determination of an accused’s guilt and their determination to insert such enhanced penalties in certain cases.
While I believe that the legislature was absolutely correct in its intent, I honestly believe that statistics would prove that there has yet to be a deterrence of the use of firearms in the commission of serious felonies. I don’t posses the resources, nor the sources to conduct such a statistical analysis, but I’m pretty sure that if one was conducted, the results would demonstrate how ineffective this Act is. I invite any institution with the resources and expertise in conducting such analysis, to do so. Even so, in the majority of these convictions where Public Act 91-404 has been applied, there lacks sufficient evidence to prove the presence of firearms. Most of the time firearms aren’t even inventoried into evidence. I believe there is a lack of fairness to us that have been convicted of the crimes that the enhancement has been applied to and also everyone that’ll be tried and convicted of these crimes. Just think of the thousands of convicted people and their families that this Act has affected over the past sixteen years.
I speak as one of many that have been over-sentenced due to the effects of Public Act 91-404. While some may consider the intentions of the legislature to be of good nature to society, there’s a poignant sense of injustice being rendered to the recipients of these greater penalties. The felony class that the crimes in which these greater penalties apply to is already the highest class of all. This class is labeled class X, and carries the penalty of 6 to 30 years. Murder, which is in a class of its own, carries the penalty of 20 to 60 years. The penalties of these crimes are already severe, having to be served at 85% or 100%, and adding 15 years, and/or 25 years to life is morally shocking.
With the effects of Public Act 91-404, the people affected by it are being heavily deprived of the opportunity to re-enter society as productive, confident, compelled, young men and women. Instead , we’re being subjected to re-enter society as angry, bitter, tainted, old men and women. Unfortunately, there are many that won’t be able to re-enter society at all. As a first time offender, I received the sentence of 28 years. Twenty years were added for there being a determination by the judge that a firearm had been personally discharged in the case that I’m convicted of, yet there never was a firearm recovered. There are already numerous injustices pertaining to the criminal justice system of Illinois, sadly though, with all of the wisdom and expertise of the legislature, Public Act 91-404 is the major addition to that list.
There should be greater penalties imposed on the manufacturers and distributors of firearms in Illinois. It’s their products that are being used to commit these felonies. Through these legal entities, firearms are being obtained illegally and utilized in numerous illegal activities. I’m sure that imposing greater penalties on these entities will be more of a deterrent to the use of firearms in the commission of serious felonies than the enactment of Public Act 91-404. To cure a problem, you must start at the root of that problem!
It ‘s been stated that lengthy prison terms do not prevent criminal activity, but it is the presence of community programs that does. With that being said, the youth that are highly susceptible to engage in felonies that have these greater penalties applied to them aren’t being admonished of Public Act 91-404. The legislature doesn’t reach out to community programs such as Cease Fire to make citizens of Illinois cognizant of Public Act 91-404. The numerous African-Americans and Hispanics that have been over-sentenced due to the “gun enhancement law,” don’t have the opportunity to admonish these “at risk” young individuals either. These are the same individuals that are highly susceptible to become a statistic of Public Act 91-404. If we weren’t over-sentenced, we would have the privilege of being restored to useful citizenship in a timely manner, and the restoration of that citizenship in a timely manner would compel us to assist the community programs of Illinois in their struggle to prevent the criminal activity.
I highly proclaim my innocence, but yet that’s still not enough to have my sentence vacated, let alone the 20 year enhancement removed from it. As I’ve stated earlier, I invite any institution with the resources and expertise in conducting an analysis on the statistics of the use of firearms in the commission of serious felonies, to do so in order to determine if Public Act 91-404 is effective in its enforcement. If determined not to be, I call for all affected and interested parties to advocate for its repeal! Thank you.
Respectfully,
Torry Carrol
Reg. No. M21939
P.O. Box 1700
Galesburg, IL 61402
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