Docket No. 83595-Agenda 8-September 1998.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellant, v. JESSICA WOOTERS, Appellee.

Opinion filed November 18, 1999.

JUSTICE McMORROW delivered the judgment of the court:

Following a bench trial, the circuit court of Marion County convicted defendant, Jessica Wooters, of murdering her infantson. 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(2) (West 1996). Section 5-8-1(a)(1)(c)(ii) of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS5/5-8-1(a)(1)(c)(ii) (West 1998)) prescribes mandatory life imprisonment for any person 17 years or older convicted ofmurdering a child less than 12 years old, provided the offender is not sentenced to death.

The State did not seek the death penalty for defendant, and the circuit court refused to sentence defendant to a life term inprison. The circuit court ruled that section 5-8-1(a)(1)(c)(ii) violates article I, section 11, of the Illinois Constitution of1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I,