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Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L
32
JANUARY 2015
THE DOUBLE-EDGE SWORD OF VICTIM SURVIVAL
Imperfect Self Defense
By Christopher Kopacz and Elena Penick
O
ne would assume that the pun-
ishment for a shooting would be
harsher if the victim died than if
he or she survived. Due to an anomaly in
Illinois law, however, that is not always the
case. In
People v. Guyton
, 2014 IL App (1st)
110450, the defendant fired a gun in the
direction of two people, killing one and
nicking the other. The sentence he received
for the non-fatal shooting was twice as
high as the sentence he received for the
homicide, yet both convictions and sen-
tences were upheld on appeal. This article
addresses the counterintuitive results of
Guyton
and offers suggestions to practitio-
ners faced with a similar scenario, where an
attempted killing is arguably accompanied
by the mitigating factors traditionally asso-
ciated with second degree murder.
Guyton’s Trial
In Illinois, second degree murder is a lesser
mitigated form of homicide that requires
the State to prove the elements of first
degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt
and requires the defendant to prove that
he was acting either (a) under a sudden
and intense passion resulting from serious
provocation; or (b) under the unreason-
able belief that circumstances exist that
would justify or exonerate the killing under
self defense principles. The latter type of
mitigation, often called “imperfect self
defense,” was at issue in
Guyton
.
Kasey Guyton was charged with the
first degree murder of Adam Saldivar and
the attempt first degree murder of Edner
Flores. There was no question that Guyton
shot Saldivar and Flores; the issue was
whether he was acting under a belief in the
need for self defense. The evidence at trial
showed that Guyton’s car collided with a
van occupied by Saldivar and Flores. An
argument ensued and the men drove away.
Guyton testified that several minutes later,
he was walking down the street when the