People v. Alden

Decision Date23 January 1959
Docket NumberNo. 34894,34894
Citation15 Ill.2d 498,155 N.E.2d 617
PartiesPEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. John ALDEN, Plaintiff in Error.
CourtIllinois Supreme Court

John L. Roach, Chicago, for plaintiff in error.

Latham Castle, Atty. Gen., and Benjamin S. Adamowski, State's Atty., Chicago (Fred G. Leach, Decatur, William H. South, Carmi, Francis X. Riley and John T. Gallagher, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

KLINGBIEL, Justice.

In 1954 John Alden, referred to herein as petitioner, was tried by jury in the criminal court of Cook County for the crime of murder, found guilty, and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 14 years. He filed a petition in the trial court under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, which was denied after a hearing. We allowed a writ of error and appointed counsel. Briefs were filed, the cause was orally argued and is now before us for decision.

The post-conviction petition alleged that the testimony of one Gerald Matthews at petitioner's trial was false and perjured and that the State had knowledge of such perjury at the time of the trial. The petition also alleged the petitioner's constitutional rights were violated in other respects. However, no evidence as to these allegations was presented at the postconviction hearing and they were not urged on the petition for writ of error and are not argued in the briefs. We will therefore confine our attention to the charge that the State knowingly used perjured testimony to convict petitioner.

Petitioner was tried and convicted for the murder of one Robert Fagan. The evidence at the original trial showed that petitioner and Fagan had been riding in an automobile with Matthews and two other men. Petitioner and Fagan got into an argument and petitioner left the automobile at his house and walked up the driveway. Fagan got out of the car and followed petitioner and before Fagan reached the house petitioner turned to face him, some words were exchanged, and petitioner shot Fagan. When Fagan fell to ground, petitioner stepped forward, pointed the gun down at Fagan and shot him again. The foregoing facts were undisputed. Matthews testified at the original trial that at the time the first shot was fired Fagan was standing still. He testified at the postconviction hearing that this testimony was false and in fact Fagan was advancing toward petitioner at the time the shot was fired. He also testified at the hearing that the assistant State's Attorney who was in charge of the prosecution of the case had interviewed him prior to trial and had discussed with him the testimony he had given before the grand jury. He had testified before the grand jury that Fagan was advancing toward petitioner at the time of the shooting and the assistant State's Attorney kept asking him whether he wanted to change this testimony. He explained to Matthews that if Fagan was standing still at the time of the shooting the State would have a good murder case but if he was advancing toward petitioner their case would not be so good. At that time Matthews was threatened with prosecution under certain indictments which were pending against him and was advised that things would go easier for him if he changed his testimony to say that Fagan was standing still at the time of the shot. Matthews testified at the hearing that because of the threat of prosecution under the pending indictments and also because of the promise of leniency if he would change his testimony, he testified falsely at the trial. It was brought out on cross-examination at the hearing that Matthews had signed a statement on the day after the shooting which did not say one way or the other whether Fagan was advancing toward petitioner at the time of the shooting. In that statement he also said that after the shot he saw Fagan fall and then saw petitioner walk toward Fagan, point his arm down and fire another shot. One Edward Wyatt testified at the post-conviction hearing that while he was in the State's Attorney's office being questioned about this crime he heard an assistant State's Attorney tell Matthews that he 'had something on him' and that if Matthews would come right out and say that Fagan was standing still at the time of the shooting things would go easier with him. The testimony of Matthews and Wyatt was the only testimony at the post-conviction hearing in support of petitioner's charge that the State knowingly used perjured testimony to convict him....

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33 cases
  • Brooks v. Gladden
    • United States
    • Oregon Supreme Court
    • 25 Enero 1961
    ...been denied due process of law. Hawk v. Olson, supra; Smallman v. Gladden, 1956, 206 Or. 262, 269, 291 P.2d 749; The People v. Alden, 1959, 15 Ill.2d 498, 502, 155 N.E.2d 617. Since subsection (1)(a) embodies as a condition to post-conviction relief what has been deemed to constitute the gr......
  • People v. Coleman
    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • 1 Octubre 1998
    ...an opportunity to see and hear each witness[,] will be upheld.' " Bracey, 51 Ill.2d at 517, 283 N.E.2d 685, quoting People v. Alden, 15 Ill.2d 498, 503, 155 N.E.2d 617 (1959). Implicit in the Bracey court's comments is the understanding that the post-conviction trial judge is able to observ......
  • People v. Brown
    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • 21 Diciembre 1995
    ...Lagios (1968), 39 Ill.2d 298, 301, 235 N.E.2d 587; People v. McKinney (1964), 31 Ill.2d 246, 247, 201 N.E.2d 431; People v. Alden (1959), 15 Ill.2d 498, 502, 155 N.E.2d 617; People v. Jennings (1952), 411 Ill. 21, 24, 102 N.E.2d 824.) To establish a violation of due process, however, the pr......
  • People v. Somerville
    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
    • 29 Enero 1969
    ...to the issues as to have probably controlled the result (People v. Ostrand, 35 Ill.2d 520, 532, 221 N.E.2d 499; People v. Alden, 15 Ill.2d 498, 502, 155 N.E.2d 617), defendants called no witnesses, but offered only statements made by Arnold in subsequent trials for the same In the March, 19......
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