People v. Tostado

The defendant, Tomas Tostado, appeals from the denial of his postconviction petition after an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, he contends that the trial court had jurisdiction to entertain his postconviction petition because he is a person imprisoned in the penitentiary pursuant to the liberal construction given to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2004)), because deportation is a severe deprivation of liberty. This court affirms the denial of the postconviction petition.

On December 1, 2000, a two-count indictment was filed that charged the defendant with…