Opinion ID: 2185279
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Use of Defendant's Prison Disciplinary Reports

Text: Defendant next argues that the State's use of prison disciplinary records as evidence in aggravation denied him a fair sentencing hearing because the records were unreliable hearsay. Defendant has failed to preserve this issue for review by failing to raise it in his post-trial motion. Moreover, this court has previously rejected such a claim, holding that the contents of prison incident reports are admissible during the penalty phase of a sentencing hearing so long as they are relevant and reliable. People v. Armstrong, 183 Ill.2d 130, 233 Ill.Dec. 252, 700 N.E.2d 960 (1998); People v. Jackson, 182 Ill.2d 30, 230 Ill.Dec. 901, 695 N.E.2d 391 (1998). Defendant's claims that the records were unreliable because based upon hearsay and double hearsay are further without merit because this court has also previously ruled that hearsay evidence is admissible at a capital sentencing hearing. See Jackson, 182 Ill.2d at 83, 230 Ill.Dec. 901, 695 N.E.2d 391. We decline to revisit our decisions in these earlier cases.