People v. Murphy

After a jury trial, defendant, Anthony Murphy, was convicted of murder and armed robbery. He received concurrent sentences of 55 years’ imprisonment for felony murder and 30 years’ imprisonment for armed robbery. On appeal, defendant asserts that (1) the State did not meet its burden of rebutting the presumption that conversations between him and his wife were privileged; (2) the trial court erred by allowing the State to improperly cross-examine a defense witness; (3) the State’s improper closing argument remarks denied him a fair trial; and (4) the 55-year sentence for murder was excessive.…