People v. Blalock

This case presents question as to whether trial court properly denied defendant’s request for leave to file third post-conviction petition that challenged his murder conviction on ground that his confession to said murder had been coerced by police. Appellate Court, in affirming instant denial, found that defendant’s police torture allegations did not satisfy “cause” test regardless of availability of corroborating evidence because defendant knew that he had been tortured when he had filed his initial petition for post-conviction relief. In his petition for leave to appeal, defendant argued that he should be allowed to file third petition for post-conviction relief, where he only discovered corroborating evidence of police abuse after he had filed his initial petition for post-conviction relief.