People v. Kinkead

In a prior decision of this court we ordered a limited remand of this cause to the circuit court of Mason County, but retained jurisdiction over this direct capital appeal. People v. Kinkead, 168 Ill. 2d 394 (1995) (Kinkead I). The purpose of the remand was to permit a fuller determination of the circumstances surrounding defendant’s ingestion of psychotropic medication during the time of his guilty plea and sentencing.

In the original proceedings in the circuit court, defendant, Scotty Lee Kinkead, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and other offenses. He had initially accepted a plea…