People v. Morgan

• Decision Date: 18 October 2001
• Docket Number: No. 88513., No. 88508
• Citation: 259 Ill.Dec. 405,197 Ill.2d 404,758 N.E.2d 813
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. Jon Roe MORGAN, Appellee and Cross-Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

758 N.E.2d 813

197 Ill.2d 404

259 Ill.Dec. 405

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. Jon Roe MORGAN, Appellee and Cross-Appellant.

Nos. 88508, 88513.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

October 18, 2001.

James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, William G. Workman, State's Attorney, Lincoln (Joel D. Bertocchi, Solicitor General, William L. Browers and David H. Iskowich, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, Norbert J. Goetten, Robert J. Biderman, David E. Mannchen, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Springfield, of counsel), for the People.

D. Peter Wise, of Gates, Wise & Schlosser, P.C., Springfield, for appellee and cross-appellant. Justice THOMAS delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Jon Roe Morgan (Jon), was charged with the murders of his grandparents, Keith and Lila Cearlock. At the time of the murders, Jon was 14 years old. Jon's case was transferred from juvenile court to the adult division of the criminal court. Following a jury trial, Jon was convicted of the second degree murder of Keith Cearlock and the first degree murder of Lila Cearlock. Jon was sentenced to consecutive prison terms of 58 years for the first degree murder conviction and 17 years for the second degree murder conviction, for a total of 75 years' imprisonment.

On appeal, the appellate court affirmed Jon's second degree murder conviction, reversed Jon's first degree murder conviction, and remanded for a new trial as to the murder of Lila Cearlock. 307 Ill. App.3d 707, 240 Ill.Dec. 725, 718 N.E.2d 206. Jon and the State each filed petitions for leave to appeal the appellate court's decision. See 177 Ill.2d R. 315. This court granted both petitions and consolidated the appeals.

BACKGROUND

On April 27, 1995, around 8:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired at Seventh and Washington Streets in Lincoln, Illinois. Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Tim Kerns observed an elderly woman lying facedown in the front yard of 1206 Seventh Street, with a gunshot wound in her back. Inside the home, Officer Kerns saw an elderly man lying on his back with a gunshot wound in his left temple. The man and woman, who later died of their injuries, were identified as Keith and Lila Cearlock.

After the crime scene had been secured with tape around the perimeter of the house, one of the officers, Deputy Sheriff Bob Spickard, noticed a young man, later identified as Jon, walking across the grass and through the crime scene tape. Spickard ordered Jon to stop, but Jon nonetheless approached Spickard and handed him a gun and a box of bullets. Jon said to Spickard, "I did it. I killed them." Upon hearing this, Spickard took Jon to the front of the house, where Detective Michael Harberts and other officers were standing. Spickard told Harberts that Jon had turned over the gun and ammunition and had admitted to the shooting. Harberts then asked Jon, "Why did you shoot these two people?" Jon responded, "They pissed me off. I couldn't take it anymore so I shot them." Harberts then instructed Officer Kerns to arrest Jon. Jon was handcuffed and placed inside a squad car. Before being transported to the Logan County jail, Jon was taken out of the squad car two separate times so that witnesses could identify him. At the jail, the officers learned that Jon was 14 years old.

Around 9:05 p.m., Harberts interviewed Jon. Jon told Harberts that the deceased were his grandparents and that they were his legal guardians. Harberts attempted to tape record the interview, but later discovered that the tape had not recorded. With Jon's consent, Harberts then interviewed Jon a second time.

At trial, Jon testified that, on the day of the shootings, he came home from school and fell asleep on his bed. Keith awakened Jon around 6:30 p.m., demanding an explanation concerning a detention for tardiness that Jon had received. Keith screamed at Jon for 10 to 15 minutes. Lila also yelled at Jon about the detentions. Keith then directed Jon to get Keith's razor strap, told Jon to bend over and grab his ankles, and, using all his strength, hit Jon with the razor strap across his buttocks five times. Keith and Lila then continued to yell at Jon, so Jon yelled back at them. Keith then swung his fist at Jon. Jon jumped out of the way and ran to the bathroom.

Jon went into the bathroom, then went to Keith's closet shelf to get a gun to protect himself from Keith. Jon took the gun and a box of ammunition back to the bathroom and loaded eight bullets into the gun. At that point, Jon started thinking about killing himself. For some reason, Jon fired at a bottle of Tilex cleaner that was on the bathtub. Jon then stepped out of the bathroom and saw Lila screaming. Jon claimed that although he then became scared, he still was not thinking about killing his grandparents.

Jon saw Keith coming around the corner and could see that Keith was very angry. Thinking that Keith was going to beat him to death, Jon lifted the gun and shot Keith so that Keith could not get to him. After Jon shot Keith, Lila started to turn around and run toward the front door. Jon thought Lila was just as dangerous as Keith because Keith beat Jon only when Lila pressured Keith to do so. Jon followed Lila as she started to run out the front door and shot Lila in the back. Lila managed to make it out the front door, but collapsed in the front yard. Jon followed Lila out the door and attempted to shoot her again, but his gun jammed.

Jon then went back inside the house and broke the lock on the door to Lila's room in order to look for her gun. When he could not find Lila's gun, Jon changed his clothes and left the house, still carrying Keith's gun and the box of bullets. Jon walked toward a friend's house and, as he was walking, attempted to unjam the gun. The gun accidentally discharged two times. Jon testified that he walked to his friend's house because he wanted some help and needed to talk to someone. When he learned that his friend, Steve Powell, was not home, he decided to walk back home. Jon testified that he felt he needed some help and thought that the police would be at his house and could help him. Jon said that he returned home in order to turn himself in for the shootings.

Testimony concerning Jon's upbringing revealed that Jon was born on August 20, 1980, to Glenda and Roe Morgan. Roe drank heavily and was physically abusive toward his children. When Jon was in kindergarten in Virginia, he was referred for a psychological evaluation for behavior problems at school, including impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and hyperactivity. Jon was hospitalized at the Psychiatric Institute of Richmond (the Psychiatric Institute) from March 31, 1986, through May 16, 1986. Jon was diagnosed as suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and depression. Jon was prescribed an antidepressant to target his depression and hyperactivity.

Jon was admitted to the Psychiatric Institute a second time on February 18, 1987, where he remained until March 29, 1987. Jon's discharge summary indicated that Glenda claimed Jon had become so aggressive that he was unmanageable. Jon was defiant toward parental authority, had dropped his newborn sister on the floor, and was aggressive toward his other siblings. Jon again was diagnosed with ADD and depression. Jon continued taking his antidepressant medication both during his hospitalization and upon discharge. Following Jon's second discharge from the Psychiatric Institute, Glenda Ashworth decided to send Jon to live with her parents, Keith and Lila Cearlock, in Lincoln, Illinois. At the time, the marriage of Glenda and Roe was breaking up, and Glenda felt that the Cearlocks offered a more stable home. Jon had no contact with his father from the time of his parents' divorce until his arrest for the Cearlocks' murders. Jon moved in with the Cearlocks when he was seven years old and began attending school at Park Meadows Baptist Church and Academy (Park Meadows). The Cearlocks and the principal of Park Meadows agreed that Jon should be taken off his medication. Jon testified that, when he got into trouble at Park Meadows, he would receive detentions or was paddled by the principal. Jon also testified that Keith frequently beat him with a razor strap, usually at the urging of Lila.

Jon moved back home with Glenda, now remarried to Linwood Ashworth, for his fifth- and sixth-grade school years. Linwood, however, began drinking and became physically abusive toward Jon and his sisters, so Glenda sent Jon back to Lincoln to live with the Cearlocks. Jon testified that Keith and Lila had a very poor relationship and slept in separate bedrooms. Jon also testified that Keith and Lila were negative and constantly criticized Jon. Keith frequently told Jon if he ever fought back when Keith was beating him, Keith would kill Jon while Jon was sleeping. Jon believed Keith.

When Jon returned to the Cearlocks' home the second time, Jon again attended Park Meadows. Jon did well in school and was on the honor roll nearly every quarter. However, on February 7, 1995, Jon was expelled from Park Meadows after another student saw Jon kissing a girl outside the girl's house. According to school policy, students could be expelled for kissing. Despite the policy, Jon initially was told that he could serve a suspension. Jon refused to agree to the terms of the suspension. The principal of Park Meadows tried to arrange for Jon to attend a school in Oklahoma, but Keith would not agree. After Keith later changed his mind about the Oklahoma school, Jon refused to go.

Following Jon's expulsion, Glenda asked Keith to bring Jon home. Keith drove Jon to Virginia, but before Jon arrived, Glenda changed her mind and decided that she could not afford to have Jon in her home. When Keith and Jon arrived in Virginia, Glenda told Jon that he could not stay. Jon was very upset with this news. Keith and Jon returned to Lincoln, and Jon attended the public high...