People v. Epps

Defendant, Booker Epps, after a jury trial, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 9 — 2(b)) and sentenced to a term of five years. On appeal, defendant raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred by excluding evidence of the victim’s prior convictions offered to show that the victim was the aggressor; (2) whether defendant was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and (3) whether the prosecutor’s improper comments during closing argument denied defendant a fair trial.

At trial, Officer Robert Thomas testified that on May 21, 1980, at…