People v. Styles

After a bench trial, defendant, George Percy Styles, was found guilty of the offenses of murder and of theft. He was sentenced to the penitentiary for 30 to 60 years on the murder conviction and for 5 to 10 years on the theft, the sentences to run consecutively.

On appeal the determinative contentions are (1) that statements given by the defendant to the police and to a polygraph operator were obtained in violation of his constitutional rights and were consequently inadmissible; and (2) that the State failed to show that defendant was guilty of theft of goods valued at over $150, the offense…