People v. Stafford

Following a jury trial, defendant Leonard Stafford was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 32 years’ imprisonment. Defendant contends the State violated his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial by proceeding to trial against him on five counts of attempted murder that had been nol-prossed three years earlier but were never reinstated by reindictment. Defendant also contends that the following errors require reversal: (1) admission of hearsay evidence regarding identification; and (2) the trial court’s misleading response to a series of questions from the jury.…