BillyKunstlerFan
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I've watched a lot of forensic files and other crime shows and being the fifth largest state (population wise) you'll find cases that happened in Illinois. From what I know, there was no such thing in the 80s and 90s as life sentences or even provisional life sentences (15-to-life or 20-to-life). You usually got "year" sentences that if you were in your early 20s, you had a good shot of eventual release.
The earliest crime where someone was given LWOP (in fact that's the only type of life sentence in Illinois) was the Winger/Harrington thing, which was in 2002. Had the law recently been changed? I know that the governor at the time (George Ryan) wanted to end the death penalty, and maybe LWOP became a sort of substitute DP. I think Illinois now has a system similar to Washington (though Washington still has the DP) where a garden variety premeditated crime will get you decades in prison but with a good shot of release and if it has aggravating factors, then that's where you get LWOP.
The earliest crime where someone was given LWOP (in fact that's the only type of life sentence in Illinois) was the Winger/Harrington thing, which was in 2002. Had the law recently been changed? I know that the governor at the time (George Ryan) wanted to end the death penalty, and maybe LWOP became a sort of substitute DP. I think Illinois now has a system similar to Washington (though Washington still has the DP) where a garden variety premeditated crime will get you decades in prison but with a good shot of release and if it has aggravating factors, then that's where you get LWOP.