Opinion ID: 702336
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Law of Accountability

Text: 66 In defense counsel's closing argument, he argued to the jury that Hernandez's credibility was open to doubt because he too was involved in the murders, that his testimony was procured through a plea bargain, and as a result of his cooperation with the state, he was charged with and convicted of a lesser crime than murder. During his rebuttal, State's Attorney Telander responded to the attack on Hernandez's credibility and told the jury: 67 TELANDER: I want to talk about Mr. Hernandez just for a minute. Now, you may not like Mr. Hernandez; I don't. It is my decision of what happened to Mr. Hernandez. If you don't like it, hold it against me. I would have liked Mr. Hernandez to be sitting with his buddy right there where he belongs, but you have heard all the evidence. Is Mr. Hernandez guilty of murder? 68 Did Theresa Santana say Mr. Hernandez shot anybody? She said it was another guy back there. 69 DEFENSE: Objection. 70 COURT: Overruled. 71