People v. Ward

Defendant, William Ward, appeals after his conviction by a jury of two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. Defendant first argues that the State failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, asserting that his identification by a witness was too doubtful and unreliable and that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he possessed the weapon used in the shooting at the time the shooting occurred. Defendant also alleges that the State injected reversible error into the trial by minimizing its burden of proof and inflaming the jury’s passions and prejudices in its closing…