People v. Emerson

In 1985, defendant was convicted of the murder and armed robbery of Belinda Byrd, as well as the attempted murder and armed robbery of Robert Ray. A jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty based on Byrd’s murder and found no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude the imposition of the death penalty. Pursuant to defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered that defendant receive a new sentencing hearing. United States ex rel. Emerson v. Gramley, 883 F. Supp. 225 (N.D. Ill. 1995). The federal…