People v. Clark

A jury convicted the defendant, Clay Scott Clark, of murder. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 9—1(a).) The court sentenced him to a 26-year term of imprisonment. The defendant appeals, arguing: (1) that the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) that the court erroneously failed to instruct the jury sua sponte on voluntary manslaughter; and (3) that the court deprived him of due process by not instructing the jury on the State’s burden to negate both the defendant’s belief that he acted in self-defense and that the defendant acted under sudden, intense passion.

Late…