The People v. O'Neil

After a bench trial in the criminal court of Cook County, jury having been waived, the defendant, John H. O’Neil, was convicted of arson and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of not less than seven nor more than fifteen years. Upon writ of error he now contends (1) that the corpus delicti was not established by competent evidence, and (2) that at a hearing in aggravation and mitigation the lower court erred in allowing oral statements to be made concerning his prior convictions without requiring formal proof thereof.

The record indicates that shortly after 7:00 A.M. on the morning of…