People v. Othman

(Vacated in Part by Supervisory Order 01/09/20.) Defendant, age 17 at time of offense, was convicted, after jury trial, of the 2008 murder of his uncle. Conviction was based on the impeached, conflicting testimonies of a jailhouse.  informant and a crack addict. Jury received evidence that was not related to the crime charged (Defendant's possession of a gun in 2010), and thus should not have been admitted, so that the sufficiency of the evidence is questionable. Court erred when it gave jury instruction IPI 3.14, and limited its consideration of the gun in Defendant's possession in 2010 to a question of intent only.Court erred when it failed to ask venire members the 8 questions required under Zehr, per Rule 431(b).Evidence was closely balanced. Defense counsel's failure to object to hearsay denied Defendant his basic right to challenge the State's case. Cumulative effect of errors and ineffective assistance of counsel resulted in an unfair trial. (WALKER, concurring; COGHLAN, specially concurring.)