The People v. Latimer

Defendant, James Latimer, was found guilty by a jury in the criminal court of Cook County of the crime of murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary. A writ of error' was issued to review his conviction.

The defendant and his niece, Yvonne Thorpe, gave substantially similar accounts of the events leading up to the death of Willie Thorpe. According to their testimony, Willie Thorpe arrived at the apartment occupied by the defendant, his niece, and her two children between 10:00 o’clock and 10:30 o’clock P.M. on July 17, 1959. Defendant and Thorpe began shooting dice and…