Opinion ID: 1980708
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Defendant's Statement of a Past Crime

Text: Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it denied defendant's motion in limine seeking to exclude defendant's statement about his attack on Sandra Sender. Defendant told police that he had been in prison for the rape and attempted murder of Sender, although he pled guilty only to aggravated battery for that attack. Sender testified that the nature of the attack was rape and attempted murder. Defendant argues that the statement should have been excluded because the conflict between the conviction and defendant's statement regarding the crime was confusing to the jury and because its prejudice outweighed its probative value. Hearsay evidence of other crimes is admissible at a capital sentencing hearing if it is relevant and reliable, even if the crime was never prosecuted. ( People v. Hudson (1993), 157 Ill.2d 401, 450, 193 Ill.Dec. 128, 626 N.E.2d 161.) Similarly, evidence of a crime is admissible if relevant and reliable, even if defendant was only convicted of a lesser offense. The evidence regarding the Sender attack was relevant to defendant's character and it was reliable, being corroborated by defendant's statement and the testimony of the victim. Thus, defendant's statement was properly admitted.