People v. Bush

Defendant, Gregory Bush, was convicted of the murders of Zelma Durbin and her son, Craig Durbin, following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County. The jury did not return a sentence imposing the death penalty, and the court sentenced defendant to consecutive terms of natural life imprisonment pursuant to section 5—8—1(a)(1) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 1005—8—1(a)(1)), finding that the murders were accompanied by “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty.”

The following issues are raised on appeal: whether…