People v. Tenny

In People v. Tenny, 224 Ill. App. 3d 53, 586 N.E.2d 403, 166 Ill. Dec. 445 (1991), the defendant was convicted of murder for his part in an incident in which a group of five people met at a pool hall, traveled to a home, and killed the two people inside the home. During closing argument, the prosecutor told the jury that three of the five accomplices, including the defendant," 'entered [the pool hall] together and that indicated and is evidence of the fact that they were working together that night as a sophisticated, experienced team of killers.'" Tenny, 224 Ill. App. 3d at 63. The court, which had already reversed and remanded the cause on an unrelated issue, deemed the prosecutor's statement improper because it was "designed to convince the jury that the defendant had participated in other killings with [the two other men]." Tenny, 224 Ill. App. 3d at 63. The defendant's principal argument was that he did not participate in the killings at issue. Tenny, 224 Ill. App. 3d at 59.