The PEOPLE v. Pelegri

José Suarez Pelegri was convicted of murder in a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County and sentenced to a term of 14 to 20 years imprisonment. In this direct appeal the defendant claims that his conviction should be reversed because (1) the closing argument of the prosecution misstated the facts in evidence; (2) the State impeached a defense witness on the basis of a prior inconsistent written statement which was not admitted into evidence; (3) the State presented rebuttal testimony which did not contradict any testimony of the defense witnesses; (4) the defendant’s guilt was not…