Defendant was convicted of home invasion, armed robbery, and aggravated criminal sexual assault. Defendant alleged in his post-conviction petition that the items found in his pocket that linked him to the crime were planted by the police and that the investigating officers committed perjury at trial. In support of his due-process claim, defendant referenced an affidavit of one of his co-defendants where the co-defendant swore that the police officers found the items on him when he was arrested. The affidavit did not appear in the record and the trial court order denying defendant’s petition did not mention the affidavit. The appellate court affirmed, finding that defendant failed to meet his burden where there was no evidence of the existence of the alleged affidavit, but noting that it defendant could produce a fresh affidavit he could raise the issue in a subsequent post-conviction petition and would be entitled to second-stage proceedings.(HOWSE and COBBS, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act