People State Illinois v. James T. Foster

JUSTICE McMORROW delivered the opinion of the court: A jury in the circuit court of Kane County found defendant, James T. Foster, guilty of first degree murder. Following a hearing, the trial court found defendant eligible for the death penalty because he killed the victim during the course of an aggravated criminal sexual assault. The court further found no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of the death penalty and sentenced the defendant to death. Defendant's murder conviction and death sentence were affirmed by this court on direct appeal. ( People v. Foster (1987), 119 Ill. 2d 69, 115 Ill. Dec. 557, 518 N.E.2d 82.) The defendant's petition for certiorari was denied by the United States Supreme Court. Foster v. Illinois (1988), 486 U.S. 1047, 100 L. Ed. 2d 628, 108 S. Ct. 2044.