The People v. Baldridge

Defendant, Harry Lee Baldridge, was indicted in the circuit court of DeKalb County for the crime of wilfully, maliciously and feloniously setting fire to a public building. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1957, chap. 38, par. 51.) He was subsequently sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of four to eight years upon a plea of guilty, and now prosecutes this writ of error for review.

Facts pertinent to his present contentions show that defendant entered a plea of not guilty when arraigned, and that the public defender was appointed to defend him. Subsequently, a trial was commenced and, after the selection…