Opinion ID: 2068732
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: ineffective assistance of counsel at the second stage of the death penalty hearing

Text: Defendant complains that he received ineffective assistance at the second stage of the death penalty hearing in that defense counsel allegedly conceded his guilt in the unrelated Collinsville shooting, conceded his guilt in the instant case, and confined his argument to the jury to a plea that there is no justification to take a human life. Defendant's claims are meritless. First, subsequent to the sentencing hearing, the defendant pleaded guilty to the Collinsville murder and received a sentence of natural life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Thus, any error caused by his attorney's comments was harmless. Second, this court has rejected a claim of ineffective assistance where counsel admitted defendant's guilt in closing, but also attempted to underscore the mitigating evidence. ( People v. Franklin (1990), 135 Ill.2d 78, 117-19, 142 Ill.Dec. 152, 552 N.E.2d 743.) Similarly, defense counsel in the instant case chose to abandon the defendant's claim of innocence and instead determined to focus on the evidence in mitigation presented on the defendant's behalf. This was a matter of trial strategy and the fact that the jury did not accept that position does not mean that defense counsel was ineffective. ( People v. Harris (1988), 123 Ill.2d 113, 157-58, 122 Ill.Dec. 76, 526 N.E.2d 335.) Likewise, defense counsel's argument that there is no justification for taking human life was counsel's appeal to the jury's sense of morality and was his tactic to underscore the burden attached to imposing the death penalty.