People v. Watkins

Following a jury trial, defendant, Joseph Watkins, was convicted of robbery and aggravated battery (Il. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, pars. 18 — 1, 12 — 4, respectively), and sentenced to two concurrent 12-year prison terms. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) he was denied his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel; (3) the State’s comments during closing argument deprived him of due process of law; (4) the trial court abused its discretion when it denied defendant’s pretrial motion to bar the State from…