People v. Hawkins

In June 1985, defendants, Nathson Fields and Earl Hawkins, along with a codefendant, George Carter, were charged with the April 1984 murders of Jerome “Fuddy” Smith and Taiman Hickman. Carter’s case was later severed and Fields and Hawkins were tried together. Attorney Jack Smeeton represented Fields, and attorney William Swanno represented Hawkins. Following a bench trial before Judge Thomas Maloney, defendants were convicted of murder and subsequently sentenced to death. The complete facts as brought out in the original trial can be found in People v. Fields, 135 Ill. 2d 18 (1990). Our…