People v. Howard

Defendant Flemón Howard was charged with two counts of murder and one count of armed violence. After a jury trial, Howard was convicted for the murder of Richard Rainey and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

At trial, defense counsel indicated that the defendant Howard never intended to kill Rainey and that the stabbing was a reckless act. On appeal, defendant raises three issues: (1) defendant was denied a fair trial due to the prejudicial remarks of the prosecutor made during closing argument; (2) defendant was denied effective assistance of counsel where defense counsel failed to tender a…