People v. Smith

Roderick Smith, the defendant, was found guilty by a jury of the attempted murder of a peace officer and of aggravated battery of a peace officer. On appeal, defendant challenges only the attempted murder conviction. He argues: (1) prosecutorial comments in closing argument deprived him of a fair trial; (2) the court should have instructed the jury on the lesser-included offense of reckless conduct; and (3) the prosecution did not prove intent to murder. We reverse the attempted murder conviction because the State violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial when the prosecutor shifted the…