People v. Woods

Defendant, Velton L. Woods, appeals from the dismissal by the circuit court of Madison County of his petition seeking postconviction relief. The court dismissed his petition as (1) untimely and (2) frivolous and patently without merit. He asserts that the trial court erroneously dismissed his petition, and he seeks a reversal and a remand to the circuit court for the appointment of counsel and further proceedings under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (the Act) (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 1996)).

BACKGROUND

Defendant was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 —…