People v. Edsall

Defendant-appellant Wade Edsall was indicted for the offense of murder in St. Clair County. On August 25,1977, during the second day of his jury trial, he moved to withdraw his plea of not guilty. After an exhaustive explanation of the defendant’s rights, the court accepted the plea of guilty and entered judgment on the plea. No formal factual basis for the plea was presented as the court had already heard most of the State’s case.

On October 14,1977, when the case came on for sentencing, defense counsel presented to the court two motions prepared by the defendant. One of the pro se motions…