Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Postconviction Petitions
Defendant filed pro se postconviction petition claiming that prosecution suborned perjury of a proffered 11-year-old witness, who was cousin of Assistant State's Attorney who was co-counsel during his criminal trial. Affidavit of witness offered by witness stated that shooting victim did have a gun, but that he was told to say that he did not have a gun. Affidavit, if true, renders witness' entire testimony reliable. A witness's testimony is entirely unreliable if he is under instructions from a prosecutor to lie or to omit certain facts while testifying. (HOLDRIDGE, concurring; LYTTON, specially concurring.)