People v. Free

This appeal was taken from the order of the circuit court of Du Page County dismissing the defendant’s petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 122—1 et seq.). The defendant, James Free, was found guilty by a jury of one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and two counts of attempted rape. At the defendant’s sentencing hearing, the jury determined there were statutory aggravating factors (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 9—1(b)(6)(c)) and found no factors in mitigation sufficient to preclude imposition of the death penalty. The defendant…