People v. Stephens

¶ 1 After a bench trial in Cook County circuit court, defendant Nathaniel Stephens, who was 19 years old at the time of the offense in 2001, was convicted of the first degree murder and aggravated battery of a 4-month-old infant. For reasons that we discuss below, defendant was sentenced three times. At the third and most recent sentencing on April 16, 2015, defendant was sentenced to a total of 29 years with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). On this appeal, defendant raises challenges only to his 29-year sentence and asks this court (1) to reduce his sentence to the minimum,…