People .v Bell

Defendant appealed from the dismissal of his amended post-conviction petition at the second stage of post-conviction proceedings for want of prosecution, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion when it dismissed the petition on those grounds. The appellate court affirmed, finding that a petition may be dismissed for want of prosecution and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion where defendant, who was on supervised release, failed to appear in court for an extended period of time and that a reasonable person could conclude from the lack of participation that defendant abandoned his petition through inaction. (SCHOSTOK and MULLEN, concurring)