People v. Aaron

Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act
Citation
Case Number: 
2026 IL App (1st) 240126
Decision Date: 
Friday, April 10, 2026
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
5th Div./Cook Co.
Holding: 
Reversed and remanded.
Justice: 
ODEN JOHNSON

Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Defendant appealed after his successive post-conviction petition was denied after a third-stage evidentiary hearing. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that defendant persuasively argued a claim of actual innocence and that a new trial was warranted because new evidence undermined confidence in the prior verdict. (MIKVA, concurring and WILSON, specially concurring)