People v. Davis

Defendant, Larry J. Davis, pleaded guilty to first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a)(1) (West 1994)). In exchange for his plea, various other charges were nol-prossed, but there was no agreement as to sentencing. On April 4, 1997, the trial court sentenced defendant to 40 years’ imprisonment. Defendant did not appeal from his conviction or sentence, but on November 21, 2000, he filed a pro se petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2000)), complaining that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel because, although he…