LaPointe v. Chrans

Petitioner, Phillip E. LaPointe, an inmate in the Joliet Correctional Center, appeals the dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he alleges that his sentence of natural life imprisonment for first-degree murder violates Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000). After petitioner pleaded guilty, the trial court expressly found three aggravating factors that rendered him eligible for the life sentence: (1) the victim was killed during an armed robbery, (2) the crime was exceptionally brutal and heinous, and (3) the crime was cold,…