People v. Morse

Defendant-appellant, Frank Morse, was convicted of arson after a jury trial in Massac County and was sentenced to serve from 5 to 20 years’ imprisonment. On appeal he alleges that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, that the court erred in allowing the State to cross-examine its own witness with prior inconsistent statements, that the court erred in allowing certain cross-examination of the defendant, that the court erred in allowing certain closing argument by the State, and that the sentence imposed is excessive.

The principal witness for the State was Charles Chaney, an…