The 105-year prison sentence given to Dimitri Green-Hosey for the 2014 murder of an Aurora man represents “cruel and unusual punishment” barred by constitutional rights, according to a recently filed motion by Green-Hosey’s attorney.
Further, the attorney, Bruce Lewin, contends Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler should have more strongly considered Hosey’s age — 18 years and eight months at the time he fatally shot Arin Williams in the head — in light of a Supreme Court ruling relating to the sentencing of juveniles.
“The sentence is disproportionate to the offense, does not allow for the possibility of rehabilitation, does not take into account any of the mitigating factors associated with (Hosey’s) youth and is a clear violation of the Eight Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment,” Lewin wrote in the four-page motion seeking to have Hosey’s sentence vacated and for Tegeler to conduct a new sentencing hearing.
Jurors in August needed about six hours to convict Hosey of murder and armed robbery in Williams’ death inside a now-closed restaurant on Lake Street. Hosey testified that he shot Williams in self-defense after Williams pulled a gun during a marijuana deal in the restaurant’s bathroom. However, Hosey’s brother Jaquan — who testified as part of an agreement with prosecutors — told jurors he snatched the bag of marijuana and began to run out. After hearing a loud noise, Jaquan turned to see Williams on the floor bleeding.
Tegeler’s sentence, one of the lengthiest issued in recent Kane County history, included 35 years for murder and 20 for armed robbery, as well as a pair of 25-year enhancements because Dimitri Green-Hosey personally fired the gun causing Williams’ death.
Lewin cited cases from Illinois involving “de facto” life sentences given to juvenile offenders, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in the so-called Miller case which made it unconstitutional in Illinois for juveniles convicted of two murders to automatically receive life in prison, to contend that rules which apply to defendants 17 and younger should have been considered by Tegeler in Hosey’s case.
“A juvenile doesn’t lose all the personality characteristics of youth eight months after his 18th birthday.” Lewin wrote. “This honorable court clearly did not take into account … Dimitri was on his own since he was 13 and yet had not been convicted of any other crimes. He had been receiving disability from Social Security for mental behavioral problems since he was 5 years of age. … The logical underpinning of Miller focused on the unique characteristics of youthful offenders, and the recognized distinction between juvenile and adult brains apply in equal force to individuals between the ages of 18 and 21.”
Prosecutors have not yet filed a formal response. It was not immediately known when a hearing on the motion will be heard. Dimitri is being processed at Stateville Correctional Center, while Jaquan is serving his 25-year sentence at the Menard Correctional Center after he pleaded guilty to murder.
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Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.