People v. Hampton

              Sixth Division
December 5, 2008
No. 1-06-3495
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
WADE HAMPTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court
of Cook County
04 CR 9869
Honorable
Joseph J. Kazmierski,
Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the opinion of the court:
In 2004, defendant Wade Hampton was arrested and charged with the 1993 shooting
death of Terrance McKinney. Following a jury trial, defendant was found guilty of first degree
murder. The trial court subsequently sentenced defendant to 28 years in prison.
Defendant appeals, arguing that: (1) he was deprived of his constitutional right to cross-examine
one of the State’s witnesses who testified that he was unable to remember the events
surrounding the shooting and the trial court then allowed the admission of the witness’s prior
testimony from a codefendant’s trial; and (2) the prosecutor’s comments in closing and rebuttal
arguments exceeded the bounds of fairness and impartiality and denied defendant a fair trial.
The following evidence was admitted at defendant’s June 2006 trial.
Demetrius Foster testified that in July 1993, he was friends with Terrance McKinney.
They had known each other since high school. On the night of July 17, 1993, he met some
friends, including McKinney, at Union Hall, located at 9340 South Chicago, for a reggae party.
At around 2:30 a.m., Foster saw McKinney talking to a man he did not know. Foster