Defendant was found guilty of three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was sentenced to three consecutive terms of 78 months in prison. The appellate court vacated two of defendant’s convictions on direct appeal and later the trial court vacated the final conviction on the basis that it was unconstitutional pursuant to a Supreme Court case. Defendant filed a petition for a certificate of actual innocence, which the trial court denied, and defendant appealed. The appellate court affirmed, finding that defendant did not meet his statutory burden of proving innocence by a preponderance of the evidence on all offenses charged in his indictment, including those charges that were nol-prossed by the State. (HOWSE and ELLIS, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Certificate of Innocence