People v. Hall

In People v. Hall, 291 Ill. App. 3d 411, 683 N.E.2d 1274, 225 Ill. Dec. 611 (1997), the defendant pistol-whipped Kenneth Eggleston, the victim of the aggravated battery, and the gun discharged, killing the murder victim, Lazaric Eggleston. On appeal, Hall argued that aggravated battery while using a deadly weapon was not a forcible felony and could not serve as the predicate offense for felony murder because it did not result in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to the victim of the aggravated battery. The court rejected his argument and invoked the residual clause of section 2-8: "Defendant's aggravated battery of Kenneth certainly involved the use or threat of physical force or violence against Kenneth." Hall, 291 Ill. App. 3d at 418. Accordingly, the aggravated battery was a forcible felony that could properly serve as the predicate offense for a felony-murder conviction. Hall, 291 Ill. App. 3d at 418.