People v. Simester

After a jury trial, defendants Janice and Dale Simester, who are married, were each convicted of two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person and sentenced to 30 months’ probation and 1,000 hours of community service. On appeal, defendants contend that the statute under which they were prosecuted, sections 12—21(a)(2) and (a)(3) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/12—21(a)(2), (a)(3) (West 1992)), was unconstitutional, they were not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and they were denied a fair trial because inadmissible and prejudicial evidence was presented by the State.…