People v. Forcum

Defendant, Donald Forcum, appeals the order of the circuit court of Jackson County, sentencing him to natural-life imprisonment for first-degree murder, 30 years’ imprisonment for attempted first-degree murder, 30 years’ imprisonment for armed violence, and 30 years’ imprisonment for home invasion. On direct appeal to this court, defendant raises three issues: (1) whether a special interrogatory denied defendant a fair trial where the subject of the interrogatory— whether the crime was committed in an exceptionally brutal or heinous manner — was not an element of the offense, (2) whether…