People v. Parker

(Court opinion corrected 8/3/12.) Defendant, then age 18 and in high school, was charged, with five co-defendants, with 1999 murder. At 2004 bench trial, defense did not put on a case, and Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and related charges. Court erred in summarily dismissing pro se postconviction petition; court never ruled on Defendant's actual innocence claim which was accompanied by completely exculpatory affidavit of co-defendant. Affidavit was new evidence, as no amount of diligence could have forced co-defendants to violate their fifth amendment rights. No physical evidence or eyewitness testimony, and primary evidence was confession obtained after 15 hours of multiple interrogations. Defendant had no prior record, no juvenile record, and no gang affiliation, and his petition was not based on meritless legal theory or fanciful factual allegation. Irrelevant that co-defendant's affidavit was not notarized, as this technicality should not prevent advancement to second-stage proceedings. (GARCIA and LAMPKIN, concurring.)