People v. Morgan

The defendant, Derrick Morgan, was indicted along with Milbon Lockridge (a.k.a. Poncho) and Sam Green (a.k.a. B-Bop) by a Cook County grand jury on two counts of murder and one count of armed violence for the shooting death of David “Swift” Smith (Smith). The armed violence charge against the defendant was later dismissed. After a jury trial, defendant was found guilty of murder. The jury subsequently found him eligible for the death penalty and sentenced him to death. Defendant appeals directly to this court (107 Ill. 2d R. 603).

Concerning pretrial proceedings, the defendant raises as issues…