People v. Jackson
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On April 1, 2010, before 6 a.m., Thornton, mayor of Washington Park, Illinois, was fatally shot at close range while seated in his car. Witnesses told police that they heard gunshots, saw Thornton’s car crash into a tree, and then saw Jackson exit Thornton’s vehicle and get into a waiting vehicle, which drove from the scene. No firearm was recovered, but police found three spent bullets inside the vehicle. After a mistrial, Jackson was convicted of first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)) and was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment.
The appellate court and Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, rejecting a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. The prosecutor’s mischaracterization of two pieces of evidence during closing arguments was “brief and isolated” and not so prejudicial that real justice was denied or that the jury’s verdict may have resulted from those statements. The trial court properly concluded that “[t]he sufficiency of the allegations made by the defendant fail on their face to substantiate a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.”
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