United States Ex Rel. Flowers v. Illinois Department of Corrections

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HART, District Judge.

In October 1980, petitioner Marvin Flowers was found guilty of murder in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Presently pending before this court is Flowers’ petition for writ of habeas corpus. Flowers argues that the state trial court improperly refused the jury’s verdict of voluntary manslaughter and that the state trial court gave confusing instructions on murder and voluntary manslaughter.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1979, Flowers, then only 22 years of age, was employed by Robert Murray. There is evidence in the record that Murray was an…