People v. Palmer

PRESIDING JUSTICE NASH

delivered the opinion of the court:

After trial by jury defendant, Steven E Palmer, was found guilty, but mentally ill, of murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1(a)(1)) and of armed violence (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 33A — 2). He was sentenced to an extended term of natural life imprisonment for murder and appeals, contending (1) the State failed to prove defendant sane beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the court erred in its instructions as to insanity, and (3) in giving an instruction which defined mental illness; and (4) that the court abused its…