People v. Schutz

In 1970, the defendant, Richard Schütz, was convicted of the murder of Cheryl Littlejohn and sentenced to an indeterminate term of 35 to 100 years’ imprisonment. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. See People v. Schutz, 8 Ill. App. 3d 827, 291 N.E.2d 194 (1972). The defendant was released from prison after serving 14 years of his sentence.

On September 14, 1999, the defendant filed a petition pursuant to section 116 — 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/116 — 3 (West 1998)) seeking to have deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing performed on certain physical…