What Is the Punishment for Killing a Bystander During Shootout Between Rival Gangs ?

In People v. Toney, 337 Ill. App. 3d 122, 785 N.E.2d 138, 271 Ill. Dec. 487 (2003), two members of a gang saw three members of a rival gang drive by and began yelling at them. Shots were fired between the two gangs, and a bystander was shot and killed. The jury found the defendant guilty of first degree felony murder of the bystander, attempted murder of the rival gang members, and aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with shooting at the rival gang members. Toney, 337 Ill. App. 3d at 128, 785 N.E.2d at 143. The Toney court held: "Unlike People v. Morgan, where the acts constituting forcible felonies arose from and were inherent in the act of murder itself, here the State's evidence demonstrated that the acts constituting the forcible felony of aggravated discharge of a firearm were not inherent in the act of murder itself but, rather, involved conduct with a felonious purpose other than the killing of the victim." Toney, 337 Ill. App. 3d at 134, 785 N.E.2d at 148.