People v. Gajda

The defendant, Stanley Gajda, was charged with murder and manslaughter in a two-count indictment. The manslaughter count charged that the defendant was guilty of voluntary manslaughter “in that he, acting under a sudden and intense passion, resulting from serious provocation by Jerome Brzezinski, shot and killed the said Jerome Brzezinski with a gun, without lawful justification, in violation of Chapter 38, Section 9-2, of the Illinois Revised Statutes 1963.” The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the voluntary manslaughter count, and Gajda was sentenced to serve a minimum of one year and a…