The PEOPLE v. Nicholls

Earnest Lloyd Nicholls, defendant herein, was jointly indicted with his son, Charles Nicholls, and his brother-in-law, Paul Kelley, for the crime of murder. He was convicted in a jury trial in the circuit court of Madison County and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 100 to 150 years. In a separate trial Charles Nicholls was convicted and sentenced for 75 to 100 years, and his conviction was affirmed in People v. Nicholls, 42 Ill.2d 91. Paul Kelley pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 50 to 100 years.

Aaron Leggett was killed in the early morning hours of February 4, 1965, in…