People v. Turner

Defendant, James Reginald Turner, appeals from a conviction of murder and a 40-year sentence to the Department of Corrections. Defendant was indicted with a codefendant, Eleanor Peterson, for the murder of her husband, Roy Peterson, by means of beating, strangling, and scalding him. The events which resulted in the indictment took place over a 24-hour period. The victim (Roy Peterson) died in the early hours of August 12, 1983, at the Petersons’ apartment in Chicago. After a joint jury trial of both defendant Turner and codefendant Peterson, both were found guilty of murder. The two…