Kory Alexander v. Illinois

Under Illinois law, where the State alleges and proves that a defendant committed the crime of first degree murder by personally discharging a firearm that proximately caused death to the victim, the defendant is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of forty-five years imprisonment. The offense of first degree murder where personal discharge of a firearm is not alleged carries a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years imprisonment. This case presents the question of whether, when a defendant is charged with the offense of first degree murder by personal discharge of a firearm, Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), mandates that the State prove personal discharge of a firearm beyond a reasonable doubt in order to sustain a conviction because it is a fact that increases the mandatory minimum sentence for first degree murder.