People v. Henderson

The defendant, Demetrius Henderson, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County dismissing, without an evidentiary hearing, his petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 122 — 1 et seq.). Because he was sentenced to death, defendant’s appeal lies directly to this court. (134 Ill. 2d R. 651.) For the reasons which follow, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

BACKGROUND

The defendant’s convictions stem from incidents which took place on the night of July 12, 1986, and which extended into the early morning hours of July 13,…