A Chicago man’s 15-year prison sentence for harassing a witness in 2018 isn’t excessive. So say three appellate court judges who heard the claim from 36-year old Everett Clinton. He was accused of taking pictures of a witness against him in another case when she was in a store and saying upsetting things to her.
Clinton claimed LaSalle County Judge Cynthia Raccuglia ignored mental health and drug addiction issues that should have lowered his sentence. The appellate judges said Clinton got a sentence within the six-to-30 year range the law calls for, so the judge is presumed to have given him a valid sentence. And the appellate court can overturn a sentence only when there’s an abuse of discretion, which the court didn’t find. The appellate judges found Raccuglia considered everything she was supposed to that was provided to her.
Clinton also claimed the judge improperly questioned prospective jurors about whether they understand his presumption of innocence. Raccuglia told them Clinton didn’t have to testify or provide any evidence and that they can’t assume that he’s guilty just because he doesn’t. Clinton claimed she brought up everything about his presumption of innocence together and thus wrongly influenced the jurors who found him guilty of one of the two counts against him. The appellate judges found nothing wrong with how Raccuglia questioned them.
The appellate judges who wrote the opinion are Mary McDade, Mary K. O’Brien, and Lance Peterson.