Defendant appealed from his convictions for intentional or knowing murder based on accountability and felony murder, arguing that the State failed to prove that the murder charges were without lawful justification and that the State failed to prove that defendant committed a forcible felony as a predicate to the felony murder charges. The appellate court reversed, finding that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting leading to the charges was without lawful justification because the victim was engaged in the forcible felony of armed robbery when the defendant shot him. The appellate court also found that the State failed to prove that defendant contemplated that force or violence would be necessary to illegally purchase a firearm and, as a result, did not prove that defendant committed a forcible felony. (JORGENSEN and HUDSON, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Self-Defense