People v. Denton

PRESIDING JUSTICE McCORMICK

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, the trial court found defendant, Morris Denton, guilty of two counts of first degree murder, and it sentenced him to 40 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Defendant appeals from the conviction and sentence.

I

Police picked up defendant, then 14 years old, around noon on November 11, 1989, a short distance from his home, while defendant was with his cousin. An officer told the cousin to tell defendant’s mother that police took defendant for questioning. Defendant’s mother, Berdia Smith, did not…