The People v. Nelson

The defendant, Edward Nelson, was found guilty of armed robbery by a jury in the circuit court of Sangamon County and sentenced for a term of not less than 4 nor more than 10 years in the penitentiary. The Appellate Court, Fourth District, affirmed the conviction but vacated the sentence (87 Ill. App. 2d 159) and we granted leave to appeal.

It is contended that the jury considered matters not of record in its deliberations. This is based solely upon the contents of an affidavit signed by the court-appointed public defender. It related that in the late evening of the day the verdict was…