People v. Kellerman

The defendant, Kevin Kellerman, pled guilty to arson (720 ILCS 5/20 — 1(a) (West 1998)) and was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. The defendant did not file a postplea motion or bring a direct appeal. He filed a pro se postconviction petition (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2000)), which was dismissed at the first stage of the proceedings. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in summarily dismissing his petition because: (1) his trial counsel was ineffective by advising him that a police offer of leniency, which led to his confession, had no legal effect; and (2)…