People v. McNeal

The defendant, Aldwin McNeal, brought this action for post-conviction relief in the circuit court of Lake County. The circuit judge dismissed the petition without an evidentiary hearing. Because the defendant received the death penalty for the underlying first degree murder convictions, the defendant’s appeal lies directly to this court. 134 Ill. 2d R. 651(a). We now affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

The offenses involved in this case arose from the deaths of two persons at a restaurant in Waukegan on April 7, 1994. According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant and an…