The People v. Johnson

The defendant, Charles Johnson, was convicted of rape after a trial by jury and was sentenced to the penitentiary for not less than five nor more than fifteen years. A previous conviction for the same offense, which had resulted in a sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment, was reversed by this court because of an erroneous instruction to the jury. {People v. Johnson, 23 Ill. 2d 465.) The defendant now seeks direct review of the judgment entered at the second trial on the ground that his constitutional rights under the due process and equal protection provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment…