The PEOPLE v. Beckham

Defendant, Bobby Lee Beckham, was charged in two indictments with two separate robberies committed on the same morning. He was convicted of both in the circuit court of Cook County after a bench trial on the first and a jury on the second. Sentences for concurrent terms of 12 to 18 years and 10 to 15 years, respectively, were imposed. These judgments were affirmed by the appellate court (71 Ill. App. 2d 357), and we denied leave to appeal. 34 Ill.2d 629.

The case is now before us by appeal from an order of the circuit court of Cook County dismissing, without an evidentiary hearing, Beckham’s…