| THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE | ) | Appeal from the Circuit Court |
| OF ILLINOIS, | ) | of Kane County. |
| ) | ||
| Plaintiff-Appellee, | ) | |
| ) | No. 99--CF--2058 | |
| v. | ) | |
| ) | ||
| WILLIE C. McCOY, | ) | Honorable |
| ) | Philip L. DiMarzio, | |
| Defendant-Appellant. | ) | Judge, Presiding. |
JUSTICE BYRNE delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Kane County,defendant, Willie C. McCoy, was found guilty of three counts offirst-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9--1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2000)),one count of attempted first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/8--4(a), 9--1(a)(2) (West 2000)), and one count of aggravated battery with afirearm (720 ILCS 5/12--4.2(a)(1) (West 2000)) based uponaccountability. Defendant received a mandatory sentence of naturallife imprisonment under the multiple-murder provision of theUnified Code of Corrections (Unified Code) (730 ILCS 5/5--8--1(a)(1)(c)(ii) (West 2000)). On appeal, defendant argues that hismandatory sentence of natural life based upon accountabilityoffends the proportionate penalties clause of the IllinoisConstitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I,