People v. Morris

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Richard Morris, was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9— 1(a)(1) (West 1994)), aggravated vehicular hijacking (720 ILCS 5/18 — 4(a)(3) (West 1994)), and aggravated kidnapping (720 ILCS 5/10 — 2(a)(3) (West 1994)). At a subsequent death penalty hearing, the same jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty and further found that there were no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of a death sentence. Accordingly, the trial court sentenced defendant to death on the first degree murder conviction. The trial court also…