People v. Smith

Defendant was convicted of first degree murder for shooting death of gang member who was playing dice with other gang members. Court erred in second stage dismissal of his postconviction petition. Defendant made a substantial showing of actual innocence where eyewitness to shooting recanted his identification of Defendant. Witness' recantation was newly discovered evidence, as Defendant could not have discovered this recantation prior to trial. This witness was the only eyewitness to identify Defendant as shooter at trial; the other two eyewitnesses both recanted their prior identifications in their trial testimony, and State produced no physical evidence linking Defendant to the crime.(FITZGERALD SMITH and PUCINSKI, concurring.)