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People v. Gill

Case Date: 03/19/1999
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-97-3437

People v. Gill, No. 1-97-3437

1st District, March 19, 1999

SIXTH DIVISION

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

HENRY GILL,

Defendant-Appellant.

 Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The Honorable Stuart E. Palmer, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE BUCKLEY delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Henry Gill, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in violation of section 24-1.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.1 (West 1992). After a bench trial, the trial judge found defendant guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) and sentenced him to a term of seven years' imprisonment. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal and raises the following issues: (1) whether the amended insanity statute (720 ILCS 5/6-2 (West 1996)) applied to him; (2) whether he met his burden of proving that he was insane at the time of the incident; (3) whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed an axe with intent to use it unlawfully; (4) whether he was entitled to a subsequent fitness hearing, after having been found fit pursuant to a hearing, to address whether he received his medication; and (5) whether the finding of GBMI violates his due process rights.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The following facts were adduced at trial.

Roy Wilson testified that at the time of the incident he was the assistant principal for the Gale Community Academy School (Gale School) located at 1631 West Jonquil Terrace in Chicago, Illinois. The school educates preschool through eighth-grade students.

Wilson stated that on June 1, 1995, at approximately 9 a.m., he was standing on the east side of Gale School along with approximately 400 students, who were in the process of lining up to be escorted into the building, when he saw defendant standing at a side entrance to the playground area. Defendant was holding a short-handled axe that had a wooden handle about 12 inches long and a silver hatchet blade. Wilson saw defendant begin to swing the hatchet from left to right and walk into the playground area. Wilson testified that he saw defendant strike one of the cement partitions located at the entrance to the playground with the axe at least three or four times. While defendant was swinging the hatchet, Wilson heard him say, "I am going to kill, kill all of you if I have to." Wilson stated that defendant also may have used profanity. At this time, defendant was within 2