People v. Witherspoon

On September 19, 1966, the defendant shot and killed his former wife, Louise Polk, in her apartment in Chicago. Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Cook County, the defendant was convicted of murder and was sentenced to a term of from 25 to 40 years in the penitentiary. His appeal was perfected prior to July 1, 1971. Since a constitutional question had been raised, the appeal came directly to this court under our Rule 603 then in force (43 Ill.2d R. 603).

The defendant’s first contention is that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because the record does not show that the…