Court Opinion

ID: 9884856
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:17:57.555508+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:41:05.932724
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Schaefer, dissenting: In my opinion the argument of the prosecutor: “As a matter of fact the defendant is eligible for probation on this case,” requires a reversal of the conviction. The majority makes no attempt to justify this argument, and its only purpose appears to be to diminish the jury’s sense of responsibility by persuading them that a verdict of guilty is not a significant matter because even if he is found guilty the defendant is not going to be punished. (See People v. Lynn (1944), 387 Ill. 549; People v. Klapperich (1939), 370 Ill. 588; Kelley v. State (1936), 210 Ind. 380, 3 N.E.2d 65; People v. Smith (1929), 206 Cal. 235, 273 P. 789.) This argument is, in my opinion, clearly and deliberately prejudicial even if the facts were as the prosecutor stated. In this case the error is compounded, however, by the fact that the prosecutor’s statement was not true.