People v. Porter

A Cook County jury convicted defendant of several crimes committed in Chicago’s Washington Park on August 15, 1982, including the killing of Jerry Hillard and Marilyn Green. For the murders, the trial judge sentenced defendant to death. A majority of this court affirmed the convictions and sentence on direct appeal. (People v. Porter (1986), 111 Ill. 2d 386.) The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. Porter v. Illinois (1986), 479 U.S. 898, 93 L. Ed. 2d 272, 107 S. Ct. 298.

Defendant thereafter sought, in a post-conviction action (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 122 — 1 et seq.), a…