People v. Ford

Following a jury trial, defendants Lorenzo Ford and DeWayne Clemons were found guilty of murder and sentenced to 35 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On appeal, the defendants raise the following issues: (1) whether their rights under the sixth and fourteenth amendments were violated by the trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury regarding voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; (2) whether they were denied a fair trial by the trial court’s failure to require the jury to return verdicts as to the offense of voluntary manslaughter; (3) whether defendants’ right to a fair…