People v. Witt

Defendant, Raymond Witt, was found guilty of the murder of Zachary Pinquind and sentenced to a prison term of 40 years. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) his conviction is invalid under the Illinois homicide law for first degree murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1) because the statute was not in effect at the time of the offense; (2) he was denied his constitutional right to a bench trial; (3) he was prejudiced by the prosecutor’s comments regarding flight during opening and closing statements; (4) an instruction to the jury regarding circumstantial evidence was in error;…