People v. Burns

*709 *797 ¶ 1 Following a June 2011 bench trial, the trial court convicted defendant, Emerson T. Burns, of first degree murder ( 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2008)). In July 2011, the court sentenced him to 50 years in prison. In December 2013, following the denial of his direct appeal, defendant pro se filed a postconviction petition. In October 2016, the State filed a motion to dismiss defendant's amended postconviction petition, which the trial court granted.

¶ 2 Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by dismissing his petition at the second stage of proceedings because he made…