People v. Childs

On May 11, 1990, a jury in the circuit court of Cook County found defendant guilty of murder and armed robbery. The court sentenced defendant to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for the murder and 60 years for armed robbery. The appellate court reversed defendant’s conviction, holding that the trial court’s ex parte instruction to the jury during its deliberations was reversible error. (230 Ill. App. 3d 993.) We granted the State’s petition for leave to appeal (134 Ill. 2d R. 315).

Background

The charges arose from the fatal shooting of Jerry Nichols on February 4, 1987. The following…