People v. Pollock, No. 3-96-1077
3rd District, 10 December 1999
| THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TABITHA POLLOCK, Defendant-Appellant. | Appeal from the Circuit Court of the 14th Judicial Circuit, Henry County, Illinois No. 95--CF--317 Honorable Jay M. Hanson, Judge, Presiding |
JUSTICE HOMER delivered the opinion of the court:
The defendant, Tabitha Pollock, was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9--1 (West 1996)) and sentenced to 36 years in prison. On appeal, she contends: (1) the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she knew that her boyfriend was beating her daughter; (2) the State deprived her of a fair trial when, during closing arguments, it vouched for the credibility of one of its witnesses and misstated the law on accountability; (3) the trial court erred in giving nonpattern jury instructions on accountability; (4) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the defendant's prior bad acts; and (5) the truth-in-sentencing law is unconstitutional. We modify the defendant's sentence to allow her to receive day-for-day good time credit and in all other respects affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
FACTS
In the early morning hours of October 10, 1995, emergency medical personnel responded to a call from the home in which the defendant lived with her boyfriend, Scott English. Also residing in the home were her three children, English's parents, the girlfriend of English's brother and the girlfriend's child. When the emergency crew arrived at the home, they found the victim, the defendant's 3