People v. Gibson

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Will County, the defendant, Sherman Gibson, was convicted of murder. The defendant waived his right to a jury for púrposes of a capital sentencing hearing, and the trial judge sentenced the defendant to death. The defendant’s execution was stayed pending direct review by this court. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI, §4(b); 107 Ill. 2d Rules 603, 609(a).

Leon Smallwood, an inmate of Stateville Correctional Center, was found in his cell on October 15, 1985, dead of a stab wound. The defendant and two others, Robert Lofton and Vernon Hicks,, all inmates of…