People v. Foster
| Decision Date | 21 December 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 62192,62192 |
| Citation | 115 Ill.Dec. 557,119 Ill.2d 69,518 N.E.2d 82 |
| Parties | , 115 Ill.Dec. 557 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. James FOSTER, Appellant. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
Page 82
v.
James FOSTER, Appellant.
Rehearing Denied Feb. 2, 1988.
Page 84
[115 Ill.Dec. 559] [119 Ill.2d 75] Charles M. Schiedel, Deputy Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Springfield, Gary S. Rapaport, Asst. Defender, for appellant.
Neil F. Hartigan, Atty. Gen., Roma J. Stewart, Sol. Gen., Mark L. Rotert, Kenneth A. Fedinets, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, for appellee.
Justice WARD delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Kane County, the defendant was found guilty of the murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1) of Jacqueline Simmons. The State asked for the death penalty, and after a hearing, the circuit court found that there existed a statutory aggravating factor in that the murder was committed in the course of an aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(6)), and that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of the death sentence. The court sentenced the defendant to death, but the sentence was stayed pending direct appeal to this court. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, sec. 4(b); 107 Ill.2d R. 603.
On January 22, 1985, the defendant was charged by indictment in the circuit court of Kane County with intentional murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(1)), knowing murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(2)), and felony murder predicated upon the offense of aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(3)).
The State's principal witness was Theresa Williams, who shared an apartment with the victim and who told [119 Ill.2d 76] of the events leading to Simmons' death. She testified that on the evening of January 9, 1985, the defendant came to her apartment in Aurora several times looking for Simmons. The defendant seemed "upset and angry" and appeared angrier at each visit. At about 9:30 p.m., Simmons came home and the defendant appeared several minutes later with John Chapman. The defendant, Chapman and Simmons then left and drove to a liquor store where they purchased some wine, beer and gin.
When they returned to the apartment, the defendant was yelling at Simmons and she was screaming and crying. The defendant threw Simmons to the floor and began hitting and kicking her. After striking her several times, the defendant walked to the bathroom and Simmons went into the living room, where she was joined by Chapman and Williams. The defendant came in with a baseball bat and began striking Simmons with it while she sat on the living room couch. Williams described the bat as 24 inches in length and 2 to 3 inches in diameter with the rounded stem broken off. As the defendant struck Simmons with the bat, he cursed and accused her of "messing around" on him. Williams stated that Simmons pleaded with him to stop hitting her, but the defendant continued to strike her with the bat on her legs, arms and back.
At one point the defendant ordered Simmons to take her clothes off, which she did. Williams testified that the defendant told Chapman that he needed to examine Simmons' underclothes to see if she had recently had sexual relations with another man. The defendant took Simmons to the bathroom, where, Williams testified, the defendant beat Simmons while badgering her to admit that she was having sexual relations with other men. After being beaten, Simmons admitted having had sexual relations with another man.
[119 Ill.2d 77] The defendant and Simmons went to the living room, where the defendant ordered her to put her clothes on and "go out and make him some money." He ordered Williams to help Simmons put on her clothes and to wipe the blood from her
Page 85
[115 Ill.Dec. 560] mouth. As she attempted to do so, the defendant resumed striking Simmons with the bat, Williams testified, "like you would when you are playing baseball, [with] both hands."Williams left the living room and went into the kitchen. When she returned Simmons was lying on her stomach with her pants pulled down and the bat partly inserted in her rectum. The defendant was kneeling behind her. Williams returned to the kitchen followed by Chapman and Tony Lloyd, Theresa Williams' boyfriend, who had just arrived at the apartment. The defendant entered the kitchen several minutes later holding the handle of the bat and, according to Williams, began "bragging" about how far he had inserted the bat handle.
Williams returned to the living room and found Simmons lying on the couch breathing irregularly and appearing to be suffering a seizure. She found a spoon and gave it to the defendant who placed it under Simmons' tongue in an attempt to control the seizure. Williams told the defendant that Simmons needed to be taken to the hospital but the defendant said that Simmons was drunk and that they should let her sleep it off. The defendant and Chapman then left to visit taverns but returned about 20 minutes later. When the defendant returned, Williams told him that Simmons was dead. The defendant attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but after several minutes gave up and threw his car keys to Lloyd telling him to call the paramedics.
Anthony Lloyd also testified on behalf of the State. He stated that when he entered the victim's apartment on the evening of January 9, 1985, at about 11 p.m., the [119 Ill.2d 78] defendant, holding a part of a broken bat in his hand, walked into the living room with Simmons. The defendant was staggering and "looked like he was high." Sitting in the kitchen with Chapman and Williams, Lloyd heard Simmons screaming and seven or eight times "some cracking sounds, like a bat hitting a ball." He testified that the defendant came into the kitchen a short time later and told Lloyd how he had inserted the bat into Simmons' rectum and indicated the depth to which he had inserted it.
Dr. Charles Conley, deputy coroner for Kane County, testified that he performed an autopsy on Jacqueline Simmons, which showed that she had suffered several blunt-trauma-type injuries to the head, chest, abdomen and legs; that the brain was swollen to a moderate degree; and that the victim's liver exhibited two lacerations which caused bleeding into the abdominal cavity. Dr. Conley also stated that he discovered a small laceration on the anus and an area of hemorrhage five inches from the anus. His opinion was that the cause of death was multiple blunt trauma, resulting in swelling of the brain and internal hemorrhage of the liver.
The State also had entered into evidence the defendant's written confession, and officers testified to the oral confession he gave at the Aurora police station following his arrest. Both confessions substantially corroborated the testimony of Williams and Lloyd.
Upon the jury's finding the defendant guilty of murder, and the entering of a judgment of conviction, the State asked for the death penalty. The court accepted the defendant's waiver of sentencing by jury, and after the first stage of the sentencing hearing, the court found that the defendant was subject to the death penalty being 18 years of age or older at the time of the murder and having had "actually killed" the victim in the course [119 Ill.2d 79] of a felony, to wit, aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill.Rev.Stat.1985, ch. 38, par. 9-1(b)(6)).
At the second stage of the sentencing hearing, the State presented evidence in aggravation, which included evidence of the defendant's previous convictions for misdemeanor battery, felony robbery, theft, and illegally possessing firearms. The State also presented testimony of several witnesses who described other crimes and acts of violence the defendant had allegedly committed. In mitigation, the defendant offered the testimony of various members of his family and friends who testified to his being kind, generous and a
Page 86
[115 Ill.Dec. 561] religious person. One of these witnesses, Earline Taylor, testified that she had had two daughters by the defendant, and that he has maintained a close relationship with the girls and assisted the children financially whenever possible. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court found that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of the death penalty and sentenced the defendant to death. The cause comes before this court for direct review as our constitution provides (Ill. Const.1970, art. VI, sec. 4(b)) and Supreme Court Rule 603 (107 Ill.2d R. 603).The defendant argues that his conviction should be reversed and a new trial ordered on several grounds. First, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in failing to suppress inculpatory statements he made at the Aurora police station following his arrest. The defendant states that he was arrested without probable cause and that the statements are inadmissible as "fruits" of the illegal arrest. Wong Sun v. United States (1963), 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441; People v. Higgins (1972), 50 Ill.2d 221, 227, 278 N.E.2d 68.
Prior to trial, the defendant moved to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. The evidence at the hearing was that at approximately 1 a.m., on January 10, 1985, [119 Ill.2d 80] Patrol Sergeant John Richmond and Officer Stephen Bonnie of the Aurora police department responded to a call to assist an ambulance crew at 425 Avon Street in Aurora. When they arrived the officers were met at the entrance to the second-floor apartment by the defendant, James Foster, who directed them to the living room where John Chapman, Tony Lloyd and Theresa Williams were. A black woman identified as Jacqueline Simmons was lying on her side on a couch. Her head and face were bloody and discolored and her jaw appeared to be broken. The paramedics arrived several minutes later and after unsuccessfully attempting to revive the woman, pronounced her dead at approximately 1:20 a.m.
...To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Stanley, 14238
... ... See, e.g., People v. Dingle, 174 Cal.App.3d 21, 219 Cal.Rptr. 707 (1985); Taylor v. State, 479 N.E.2d 1310 (Ind.1985); State v. Nuccio, 454 So.2d 93 (La.1984); ... State, 289 Ark. 130, 709 S.W.2d 812 (1986); People v. Quezada, 731 P.2d 730 (Colo.1987); People v. Foster, 119 Ill.2d 69, 115 Ill.Dec. 557, 518 N.E.2d 82 (1987); but see Matter of T.T.T., 365 A.2d 366 (D.C.1976); Commonwealth v. Walker, 470 Pa. 534, ... ...
-
People v. Johnson
... ... 2d 126, 132, 221 Ill.Dec. 843, 676 N.E.2d 646 (1997) ). Specifically, an involuntary manslaughter instruction should be given if there is some credible evidence in the record that would reduce the crime of first degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Id. (citing People v. Foster , 119 Ill. 2d 69, 87, 115 Ill.Dec. 557, 518 N.E.2d 82 (1987), and People v. Ward , 101 Ill. 2d 443, 451, 79 Ill.Dec. 142, 463 N.E.2d 696 (1984) ). However, a manslaughter instruction should not be given where the evidence shows that the homicide was murder, not manslaughter. People v. Arnett , ... ...
-
People v. Franklin
... ... 38, par. 1005-1-19.) This definition requires that a person be convicted of an offense before he can be sentenced. It follows, therefore, that a "judgment of conviction" is the circuit court's entry of judgment on a verdict of guilty. (See People v. Foster (1987), 119 Ill.2d 69, 78, 115 Ill.Dec. 557, 518 N.E.2d 82; People v. Owens (1984), 102 Ill.2d 88, 113, 79 Ill.Dec. 663, 464 N.E.2d 261; but see People v. Kuhn (1988), 126 Ill.2d 202, 127 Ill.Dec. 827, 533 N.E.2d 909 (judgment is not final without a sentence).) For the purpose of section ... ...
-
People v. Robinson
... ... 613, 469 N.E.2d 147.) Probable cause to arrest exists when facts exist that would lead a reasonable person standing in the shoes of the police officers to conclude that a crime has been committed and the defendant was the person who committed the crime. (People v. Foster (1987), 119 Ill.2d 69, 83, 115 Ill.Dec. 557, 518 N.E.2d 82.) Courts, guided by common sense and practical considerations, must determine whether probable cause existed based on the facts known to the officers at the time the arrest was made. Tisler, 103 Ill.2d at 236-37, 82 Ill.Dec. 613, 469 ... ...