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reckless homicide law
NOTE:
This Illinois Statute
is provided as a service to educate the general public only. It is not
intended as an endorsement or inducement of the unauthorized practice
of law. As with all legal matters one must research the most current
statement of the law in the Illinois Compiled Statutes and then
research the applicable case law interpreting the provision of the law
in question prior to determining a legal positions. In order to
protect your legal interest you should consult with a practicing
attorney.
Reckless Homicide
The Illinois statute on Reckless
Homicide provides in pertinent part as follows:
Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless
Homicide.
(a) person who unintentionally kills
an individual without lawful justification commits involuntary
manslaughter if his acts whether lawful or unlawful which cause the
death are such as are likely to cause death or great bodily harm to
some individual, and he performs them recklessly, except in cases in
which the cause of the death consists of the driving of a motor
vehicle, in which case the person commits reckless homicide.
(b) In cases involving reckless
homicide, being under the influence of alcohol or any other drug or
drugs at the time of the alleged violation shall be presumed to be
evidence of a reckless act unless disproved by evidence to the
contrary.
(c) For the purposes of this Section,
a person shall be considered to be under the influence of alcohol or
other drugs while:
1. The alcohol concentration in the
person's blood or breath is 0.08 or more based on the definition of
blood and breath units in Section 11501.2 of the Illinois Vehicle
Code;
2. Under the influence of alcohol to a
degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a motor
vehicle or operating a snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, or watercraft;
or
3. Under the influence of any other
drug of combination of drugs to a degree that renders the person
incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle or operating a snowmobile,
all-terrain vehicle or watercraft; or
4. Under the combined influence of
alcohol and any other drug or drugs to a degree which renders the
person incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle or operating a
snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle or watercraft.
(d) Sentence.
(1) Involuntary manslaughter is a
Class 3 felony.
(2) Reckless homicide is a Class 3
felony.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in
subsection (e-5), in cases involving reckless homicide in which the
defendant was determined to have been under the influence of alcohol
or any other drug or drugs as an element of the offense, or in cases
in which the defendant is proven beyond a reasonable doubt to have
been under the influence of alcohol or any other drug or drugs, the
penalty shall be a Class 2 felony, for which a person, if sentenced to
a term of imprisonment, shall be sentenced to a term of not less than
3 years and not more than 14 years.
(e-5)In cases involving reckless
homicide in which the defendant was determined to have been under the
influence of alcohol or any other drug or drugs as an element of the
offense, or in cases in which the defendant is proven beyond a
reasonable doubt to have been under the influence of alcohol or any
other drug or drugs, if the defendant kills 2 or more individuals as
part of a single course of conduct, the penalty is a Class 2 felony,
for which a person, if sentenced to a term of imprisonment, shall be
sentenced to a term of not less than 6 years and not more than 28
years.
(f) In cases involving involuntary
manslaughter in which the victim was a family or household member as
defined in paragraph (3) of Section 112A-3 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1963, the penalty shall be Class 2 felony, for which a
person if sentenced to a term of imprisonment, shall be sentenced to a
term of not less than 3 years and not more than 14 years.
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