People v. Jackson

The defendant, Earnest Jackson, was found guilty of two counts of armed robbery and one count of aggravated kidnapping by a jury in the Will County circuit court and sentenced to three concurrent 12-year terms. The appellate court reversed, one judge dissenting (84 Ill. App. 3d 172), holding that rebuttal statements made by the prosecution during closing argument constituted plain error mandating a new trial. We allowed the State’s petition for leave to appeal. A review of the evidence will be helpful in assessing the validity of the appellate court’s reasoning.

The charges on which defendant…