People v. Campbell

On October 15, 1998, a jury convicted defendant, Teshome Campbell, of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9 — 1(a)(2) (West 1996)) for his involvement in the beating death of James Shepherd. On November 24, 1998, the trial court denied defendant’s posttrial motion and sentenced him to 55 years in prison. On January 7, 1999, the trial court denied defendant’s motion to reconsider his sentence. Defendant appeals his conviction. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

During the early morning hours of December 25, 1997, James Shepherd, the murder victim, picked up Rita Butler, a prostitute, and drove to the corner…