People v. Weathers

The defendant, Russell P. Weathers, was convicted of murder upon a plea of guilty in the Circuit Court of Rock Island County. Neither a motion to vacate the plea nor a direct appeal was filed by the defendant. This appeal is taken from a denial of the defendant’s postconviction petition without a hearing.

The sole issue raised by the defendant is whether the facts adduced at the plea hearing were sufficient to demonstrate that the defendant possessed the necessary mental state to support a murder conviction.

The record shows that in the early morning hours of January 3,1975, the defendant and a…