People v. Willis

Following a bench trial, defendant George Willis was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections. The issues raised on appeal are: (1) whether the State failed to prove that defendant did not act in self-defense; (2) whether the trial court erred when it allowed a victim impact statement to be introduced at defendant’s sentencing hearing; (3) whether in sentencing defendant, the court improperly considered as an aggravating factor that defendant’s conduct resulted in the taking of a life; (4) whether the court’s reliance on the statutory…