People v. Sawyer

The defendant, Terrance Sawyer, was convicted by a McDonough County jury of voluntary manslaughter for the stabbing death of Garry Kennedy. The trial court, however, found that it had improperly refused to give the defendant’s tendered instruction on the use of force in defense of a dwelling (Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Criminal, No. 24—25.07 (2d ed. 1981)), and granted the defendant’s motion for a new trial. At the retrial, a second jury convicted the defendant of voluntary manslaughter. The trial court sentenced the defendant to the minimum term of four years’ imprisonment. The…