People v. Adams

After the defendant, Larry Joe Adams, was found guilty of the murder of pharmacist Eugene Ponder following a jury trial in the circuit court of Madison County, the prosecution asked for a hearing on the question of whether the death penalty should be imposed (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 9—1(d)). Following the hearing, the jury sentenced the defendant to death, and the trial court entered judgment on the verdict. Execution of the sentence was automatically stayed pending direct appeal to this court under Rule 603 (87 Ill. 2d R. 603).

Eugene Ponder was a pharmacist who operated the…