Randy L. Brackett v. Howard Peters and Roland W. Burris

POSNER, Chief Judge.

Randy Brackett, an Illinois state prisoner who had been convicted after a bench trial of felony murder and given a long prison term (see People v. Brackett, 117 Ill.2d 170, 109 Ill.Dec. 809, 510 N.E.2d 877 (1987)), applied for federal habeas corpus, arguing that no rational finder of fact could have found that he had caused the death of his victim. The district judge, after reviewing the record of Brackett’s trial, denied his application, precipitating this appeal, which raises interesting questions concerning the requirement of causation in criminal law.

Brackett, age 21…