Court Opinion

ID: 9709844
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 03:55:50.125759+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:51.912296
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE SIMON, dissenting: The defendant was convicted by a jury which had been death-qualified. For the reasons explained in my dissenting opinion in People v. Wright (1985), 111 Ill. 2d 128, 170, I believe that the defendant was deprived of a fair trial, and I would grant the petition for post-conviction relief and remand for a new trial. In addition, for the reasons stated in my separate opinions in People v. Lewis (1981), 88 Ill. 2d 129, 179 (Simon, J., dissenting), in People v. Silagy (1984), 101 Ill. 2d 147, 184 (Simon, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part), and in People v. Albanese (1984), 104 Ill. 2d 504, 549 (Simon, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part), I believe that the Illinois death penalty statute is unconstitutional, and I would therefore vacate the death sentence imposed in this case.