People v. King

A jury in the circuit court of Cook County found the defendant, Zelma L. King, guilty of three murders, and recommended a death sentence, which was imposed. On this appeal he contends that his procedural rights were violated in numerous respects, and that the judgment must therefore be reversed.

At the time of the killings, in May of 1967, the defendant, who was 25 years old, had recently moved into a second-floor apartment with his aunt, Bettie Smith, and her children. He brought furniture and a refrigerator with him, and he had placed a sign in front of the building offering the furniture…