People v. Armstrong

Following a jury trial, defendant Roy Armstrong was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections. On appeal, defendant contends that (1) he was denied effective assistance of counsel; (2) his conviction should be reduced to second degree murder; and (3) he was denied a fair trial as a result of various instances of prosecutorial misconduct.

During trial, the following evidence was presented. On May 4, 1989, at approximately 10:30 a.m., the body of James Moore was found lying in the gangway of a coach house in defendant’s backyard at…