The PEOPLE v. Smith

On September 28, 1965, Edward J. Smith, accused in an indictment of murder and voluntary manslaughter, withdrew an earlier plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty in the circuit court of Lake County to the lesser charge of rnanslaughter. A motion for probation was denied on October 14, 1965, and he was sentenced to the Illinois State Penitentiary for a term of not less than 12 years nor more than 20 years. The defendant later filed a petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1969, ch. 38, par. 122 — 1 et seq.), alleging that his constitutional rights were…